Magma Rising
by Count Morningstar
Summary: A sequel to the Noir Mask Trilogy. Upon arriving in Lilycove City to participate in another contest, May meets Marie and Lisa and learns of the twisted secrets of Marie's past. Meanwhile with Team Aqua out of the way, Team Magma makes a move that will allow them to awaken Groudon and reshape the world.
1. The Dantes Mansion

**Introduction:** Well, I'm back. At least for one more Pokemon story. I know that a lot of you reading are probably expecting me to do Reign of Silver. I've gotten a lot of reviews and PMs asking me when I'm going to get that story off the ground, and I'm afraid I still can't give anyone a good answer. There are tons of reasons of course that I won't get into right now, but I can say that Reign of Silver will be written eventually. In the meantime, because of all the recent buzz about OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire, I've decided to work on this other older story idea of mine that helps mainly to set up a story that's going to happen after Reign of Silver. As I said in the summary, this story is kind of a sequel to my Noir Mask Trilogy and takes place in the timeline roughly during _Dusk of the Dead_. Also, there will be no Primal Reversions used in this story because I'm saving that for after Reign of Silver, but there will be a few Mega Evolutions. That said, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Dantes Mansion

It was the middle of the afternoon as twenty-two year old Pokemon Coordinator May Wilson rode her bike towards Lilycove City in Hoenn. She was on her way to the seaside city in order to participate in a championship Pokemon Contest that was set to happen in two days. May had been peddling her bike for half the day, but at last she had finally arrived at Lilycove City. Rather than heading to the local Pokemon Center though, May began to ride her bike towards the wealthier part of the city, the part of Lilycove known for its fabulous estates. She was heading towards one mansion in particular, the mansion owned by the very wealthy Dantes family.

A little over a year ago when she had participated in another Pokemon Contest, May had befriended the dashing young Andre Dantes, who had instantly become a big fan of May's after seeing her and her Pokemon perform. After the contest, Andre had invited May to spend some time at his family's mansion. May had greatly enjoyed the five days she had spent at the mansion, and when it had come time for her to set out on the road again, Andre and his uncle had invited May to come back and use the guesthouse whenever she returned to the city. After only a few more minutes of riding, May finally arrived at the front gate of an opulent white two-story mansion sitting at the top of a hill. This of course was the Dantes mansion.

May dismounted her bike, and upon finding that the front gate was unlocked decided to head for the door. As soon as she reached the front door, she set her bike against the wall and knocked on the door. May stood there for what seemed like almost five minutes waiting for someone to open the door. She knocked again, and then after trying the knob she found that the door was unlocked. Thinking that Andre and his uncle wouldn't mind, May went ahead and let herself in.

Upon walking into the great house though, May noticed that the large main hall was almost completely dark. The only light coming through was the light streaming in through the windows in the adjoining rooms. It looked almost as though the place had been abandoned.

"Hello?" May called as she walked further into the room. "Is anyone here?"

In answer to her question, May heard a growling noise that caused her to look to her right. Approaching her was a snarling black dog-like Pokemon with a red snout and two curved white horns in the spots where ears would normally be. It had a slender tail that ended in a point like the tail of a demon. May instantly recognized the Pokemon as a Houndoom.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" a voice demanded to know.

May looked and walking out of a dark corner of the room was a young woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had shoulder-length blonde hair with a slight curl and striking violet eyes. May noticed that her eyes were very much like Andre's making her assume that she was a relative of some kind. Her skin was quite pale, like she had not been in the sun for a long time. She had on a sleeveless black shirt with a black vest and black skintight jeans.

Walking at the blonde's side was a five-foot tall bipedal fox with grey and black fur and red claws. Atop its head was a large mound of red and black fur that was tied into a ponytail by a large round teal gem. May recognized the creature as a Zoroark, a very rare and powerful dark-type Pokemon.

"Um, hello." May nervously greeted. "I'm… May Wilson."

The blonde looked May over for a few moments. "…Oh, you're that Pokemon Coordinator who's the daughter of the Petalburg City gym leader. I've read about you a few times. But that doesn't explain why you think you have a right to barge into this house."

"Well, I'm sort of a friend of one of the people who lives here, Andre Dantes." May explained. "He said I could stay in the guesthouse whenever I was in town."

At this, the blonde seemed to become more enraged. "I see… so you're a friend of my bastard cousin, eh? Well I'm afraid to inform you that Andre Dantes no longer lives here, and any friends that he had are no longer welcome under this roof or any part of the property. Now leave before I do something we'll both regret!"

"Well actually, the invitation to stay at the guesthouse came from Andre's uncle." May quickly informed her. "He said that he really liked having me here."

Upon hearing this, the blonde's expression softened. "My… my father was the one who said you could stay here?"

"That's right." May confirmed. "So… I guess that makes you Andre's cousin?"

Instead of answering May's question, the blonde raised her hand. Instantly, Houndoom stopped growling at May and sat down. Zoroark seemed to calm down as well.

"Does this mean I can stay?" May asked.

"Emma!" the blonde called in response.

Quickly walking into the room was a young woman with long reddish-brown hair wearing glasses and a maid's outfit. "Yes Ms. Marie?"

"Show that girl to the guesthouse and see that she's settled in." Marie ordered.

"Of course, Ms." Emma replied. "Will there be anything else?"

"No." Marie replied as she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "My head's killing me, so I'm going back up to my room. Until dinner, I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone except Lisa, is that clear?"

"Yes, Ms." Emma replied with a bow. She then turned her attention to May. "Ms. Wilson, if you'll please follow me."

May nodded and began to follow Emma out of the room while Marie headed up the stairs with Zoroark. As May left the room, she thought she saw some kind of blue eye starring at her from a dark corner of the room. Whatever it was caused a chill to run down her spine.

"I'm terribly sorry for the greeting you received, Ms. Wilson." Emma spoke.

"Who was that back there?" May asked. "And what happened to Andre?"

"That was Master Andre's younger cousin, Marie Dantes." Emma explained. "And I'm afraid that a lot has happened since the last time you were here. This might be hard for you to hear, but I'm afraid that Master Andre was not the man who any of us thought he was."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

At this, Emma stopped in her tracks. "He was very bad man, Ms. Wilson. Many years ago when Ms. Marie was ten, Master Andre framed her for stealing a priceless artifact from the Lilycove Museum and had her sent of a jail that was said to be a hell on earth. All so that he could gain control of his family's company when his uncle died."

"That can't be true!" a shocked May declared.

"I'm afraid it is, Ms." Emma gravely confirmed. "He had also been slowly poisoning his uncle over the years for the very same reason. You do recall how sick Master Alex was when you were last here."

May did remember that Andre's uncle was indeed in poor health during her visit. But she just couldn't believe that Andre had been the reason for his illness. It was so unlike the kind charming man she had come to know during her stay.

"There's more, I'm afraid." Emma continued. "Master Andre had also made a few deals with the criminal underworld, and even tried to use the power of an ancient Pokemon to drown this city. I don't know all of the details. If you wish to know more, I suggest that you ask around the city."

"I just can't believe it." May stated.

"There are times when I still have trouble believing it as well, Ms." Emma admitted. "But I'm afraid it is true. Andre Dantes was a monster, and it seems that the one hurt most by what he's done is Ms. Marie."

"She really seemed to get mad the moment I mentioned that I knew Andre." May recalled.

"I've only worked for the Dantes family for three years, but I can say with certainty that whatever ordeal Ms. Marie has been through due to Master Andre's actions has left her a bit… strange." Emma told her. "And I find many of Ms. Marie's Pokemon to be a little unsettling to be around."

"You mean that Zoroark and Houndoom?" May asked. "I guess they're a little scary, but they seem okay."

"Well, I suppose. But I was referring to this… other Pokemon that Ms. Marie has." Emma replied with a shudder.

"What Pokemon is that?" May asked.

"…Never mind." Emma answered. "The only piece I can give you right now, Ms. Wilson is to not mention Master Andre's name around Ms. Marie or Ms. Lisa."

"Lisa? Who's that?" May asked.

"Lisa Flare. She's Ms. Marie's… very close friend." Emma explained. "Now then, let's get you settled in."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." May replied. And with that, they continued to the guesthouse.

* * *

It was half past midnight as a male officer at the front desk of the Lilycove City Police Station filled out some mundane paperwork. As he finished filling out what was probably his fiftieth form of the night, he heard the sound of someone clearing her throat. Looking up, the officer saw a young woman wearing a sleeveless red hooded shirt with small black horns on the hood and a black M-like symbol on the front, along with a short red skirt and a black visor over her eyes. Wrapped around her right ankle was a strange blue piece of jewelry. The officer felt he had seen the type of outfit the young woman was wearing before, but couldn't quite place it.

Standing by the hooded woman's feet was a small pink creature with an odd face, stubby arms and large feet with yellow toes. On top of its body were two large floppy ears. The officer recognized the creature as a Whismer.

"Can I help you, Ms.?" The officer asked.

"Yeah, I'm with Team Magma, and I've come to steal something you've got in the station's evidence room." The hooded girl answered.

"Team Magma? Oh crap!" the officer exclaimed as he got to his feet.

The hooded girl covered her ears. "Aster, use Screech!"

The little Pokemon at the girl's side let out an earsplitting screech that knocked the officer against the wall. The officer was knocked out cold and slid to the floor. When the noise stopped, the hooded girl uncovered her ears and pulled out a radio hanging at her belt.

"Commander Tabitha, we're good to go." The hooded girl spoke into the radio.

"Good work, Zinnia." A male voice responded. "We're moving in."

Suddenly five men and three woman dressed in the same costume as Zinnia burst in through the door. Calmly walking in soon after was a man with green hair wearing the same kind of costume, with the only noticeable difference being that his costume seemed to include a kind of cape. This man of course was Tabitha, and as he walked up to Zinnia, four of Team Magma soldiers that came in with him went further into the station.

"This is turning out to be an easier job than I thought." Tabitha observed.

"What do you expect, sir? The cops in this city are only used to dealing with petty crimes." Zinnia pointed out.

Moments later the four Magma agents returned, with one of them carrying a long black box. The agent presented the box to Tabitha. Tabitha took the box and opened it to examine the contents. Inside the box were pieces of a device that resembled a metal trident.

"So this is the device that Andre Dantes used to wield the Blue Orb and control the wretched Kyogre." Tabitha smirked. "To think that man and Team Aqua had almost ruined the world."

"In the end though, things turned out very well for us, didn't they sir?" Zinnia pointed out. "Thanks to those trainers who meddled in Dantes' plan, Team Aqua's now out of the way and we now have the means to carry out our plan for the world."

"All we need now is the Red Orb." Tabitha replied as he closed the box. "Once we have that, we can finally reshape this world into the ideal environment for Pokemon of the land. Victory is finally within our grasp."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So this is my first story using May as one of the main characters. I know I still need to do the story where Ash and Misty first meet May in Hoenn in this AU, but I'm going to save that for later. I still need to figure out the plot since I've used the Aqua/Magma storyline elements from the games for this story and the Noir Mask Trilogy. The other thing I feel I should note is that I've used Tabitha's character design from the original Ruby and Sapphire games, mainly because that was the design I used for his brief cameo in _Rise of Noir Mask_. Also, those of you reading familiar with the Delta Episode of OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire probably recognize the Team Magma grunt who helped Tabitha break into the police station.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Party Crash

**Author's Note:** I'd like to give a big thank you for everyone who's already reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story. I'm thrilled by the level of response this story has already gotten. A couple of you who reviewed asked if Ash was going to be showing up in this story. As I explained in this story's introduction (which I don't blame anyone for skimming over), the events in this story take place at about the same time as the events of my other Pokemon story, _Dusk of the Dead_. So while Lisa and Marie deal with this stuff concerning Team Magma, Ash and Misty are in Lavender Town dealing with some stuff involving Dawn. So in short, I'm afraid that Ash won't be showing up in this tale.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2: Party Crash

It was still the dead of night as Tabitha neared the foot of Mt. Chimney with Zinnia and the rest of his soldiers. The group entered a small cave at the foot of the massive volcano and reached a large metal door all the way at the end. As soon as Tabitha entered a code into a control panel built into the door, it rose up and allowed them to enter a long metal hallway with dark-grey walls. They headed all the way to the end and entered a large elevator as soon as they approached. Once they were all inside, the elevator began to go downward deep beneath the earth.

As soon as the elevator reached the bottom they exited and entered a large command center with rock walls that was swarming with Team Magma agents. Tabitha handed the box containing the broken trident to one of his men.

"Take that to the lab and have the technicians begin the repairs." Tabitha ordered. The Magma agent saluted and quickly walked off. "Zinnia, you're with me."

Zinnia nodded and the rest of Tabitha's agents dispersed. She and Aster then followed Tabitha to a small red metal door on the other side of the large underground room. The door opened automatically and the three of them went in. The room on the other side was a very large office with massive windows showing the flow of magma beneath the volcano. The room was mostly bare, save for a large monitor on the wall and a black desk with some chairs. Sitting behind the desk was a man with bright orange hair, wearing a red and grey jumpsuit with a small Team Magma symbol on the front.

The man looked up from the book he was reading as soon as Tabitha and the others entered the room. "Ah, Tabitha. I trust the operation went well?"

"Everything went smoothly, Maxie, sir." Tabitha replied. "We now have the Team Rocket device that Andre Dantes used to wield the Blue Orb. It should be undergoing repairs as we speak."

"Excellent." Maxie replied as he stood up. "All that's left now is to obtain the Red Orb."

"Assuming the device will work with the Red Orb like it worked with the Blue Orb." Tabitha pointed out.

"There's no reason why it shouldn't." Maxie told him. "It really is an interesting twist of fate that the device Team Aqua could've used to ruin the world will now help us to perfect it."

"Everything does seem to be going our way." Tabitha agreed. "To think that only a few months ago everything was even between us and those damn Aquas."

"Indeed. They had Kyogre, and we have Groudon." Maxie replied as he turned to face the large window behind his desk.

Slumbering outside in the massive cave in the river of flowing magma was a large dinosaur-like creature with a body covered in red armor-like scales. It had a grey underside and white spikes ran down the sides of its head and body. Running along parts of its red armor were black lines that formed a pattern on its arms and legs.

"For the time being we are still unable to awaken Groudon, just as Team Aqua was unable to awaken Kyogre." Maxie continued. "But now at last we can finally achieve our goal. We shall succeed where Team Aqua failed."

"Now all that's left is for us to steal the Red Orb from the Lilycove Museum tomorrow." Tabitha replied.

"Yes." Maxie replied as he turned back around. "Let's see how that part of our mission is progressing." The redhead pressed a button on his desk. "Send Courtney in at once."

At this, the door to the office opened. Walking in was a woman with short purple hair wearing a unique Team Magma uniform.

"You wish to seem me sir?" Courtney asked.

"Is everything ready for the raid on Lilycove Museum?" Maxie asked.

"Yes sir. All of our forces are in position in the city." Courtney reported. "We'll begin the raid tomorrow night while the orb is on display."

"Excellent." Maxie replied. "I don't think I have to stress just how important it is that we obtain the orb."

"Sir! I request permission to accompany Commander Courtney on this mission." Zinnia spoke.

"Who is this?" Maxie asked Tabitha.

"This is Zinnia, one of our newest recruits, sir." Tabitha answered. "She was quite useful in obtaining the device."

"Well then, I suppose it wouldn't hurt if she went along on this next mission." Maxie decided.

"Just don't get in my way, new girl." Courtney warned Zinnia. "Otherwise you might just get burned."

"From this point on, we must all do our absolute best." Maxie told them. "Our long dream is finally within our grasp. We cannot afford any mistakes."

"Sir, you need not worry about a thing." Tabitha assured him. "There's no way any of us will let you down."

* * *

Lisa Flare awoke as the light of the morning sun shined through the bedroom window. Marie was still cuddled up against sound asleep. Lisa smiled as she gazed at the sleeping face of her blonde lover. She always looked so peaceful when she was asleep, which was amazing considering the hard life Marie had led for a little over a decade. Forced to live as an outlaw and the most feared agent of Team Rocket. The whole ordeal had left Marie just a little bit twisted; yet she was still the same girl that Lisa loved.

After a few more minutes, Marie stirred and slowly opened her violet eyes. The blonde let out a contended sigh upon seeing Lisa next to her.

"Good morning, angel." Lisa whispered before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Are you feeling better?"

Marie nodded. "That damn headache's finally gone."

"This trip back here's been hard on you, hasn't it?" Lisa asked.

"It hasn't been all bad." Marie replied. "It is a little nice spending time in my old home after all these years, even though being here does stir some painful memories."

"I promise you that we'll only stay for a couple more days." Lisa assured her. "I'm going down to get some breakfast. You just stay here and rest."

Marie nodded and rested her head back on the pillow. Lisa meanwhile got out of bed and began to get dressed. In moments she had dressed in an outfit consisting of a red t-shirt with a brown leather vest and tight jeans. Lisa left the room and quietly as possible and headed downstairs. By the time she reached the large dining room, Lisa saw May sitting at the table and froze, trying to figure out who she was and what she was doing there.

"Oh! Hi there." A surprised May greeted upon noticing Lisa. "Um, you must be Lisa. I'm May."

"Oh yeah, Marie mentioned that you were staying in the guesthouse last night." Lisa recalled.

"I hope you don't mind me coming in here, but it felt kind of lonely eating breakfast in the guesthouse by myself." May told her.

"It's no problem." Lisa replied as she sat at the table.

"…So, Emma said that you're a friend of Ms. Marie?" May asked.

"Ever since we were little." The dark-haired Pokemon trainer confirmed. "Though we're a little more than just friends."

"Um, okay." May replied with a raised eyebrow. "So you're a Pokemon trainer, right?"

"That's right." Lisa answered. "Actually Marie and I would be out on the road right now, but my dad kind of insisted that we both come back to visit for a few days. The truth is I kind of felt obligated to since I haven't been back here nearly at all over the past few years."

"The busy life of a Pokemon trainer, right?" May assumed.

"Kind of." Lisa replied. "Actually I spent the last few years in Johto trying to deal with some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" May asked.

"It's… a long and complicated story." Lisa answered.

Before May could ask anything more, Emma entered the room. "Ms. Lisa, your father has come to see you."

"Well, show him in." Lisa told her.

Emma bowed and left the room. Entering the room moments later was a man with black hair and a beard and green eyes like Lisa's own, wearing a dark-blue suit with a red tie. This of course was Lisa's father, Desmond Flare.

"Good morning, Lisa." Desmond greeted. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in unannounced."

"Hi dad." Lisa greeted back.

"Hello, Mr. Flare." May chimed in. "Nice seeing you again."

"Ah! Ms. Wilson. This truly is a pleasant surprise." Desmond replied. "I suppose you're here for the Pokemon Contest being held in the next few days."

"Yep." May confirmed. "Right now though I was just getting to know Lisa. I had no idea that she was your daughter."

"The fact that we had the same last name didn't tip you off?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, well I kind of thought that was probably just a coincidence." May chuckled.

"Anyway, Ms. Wilson, I hope you didn't receive too big of a shock when you arrived here." Desmond spoke as he sat down at the table. "I trust that by now you've learned of what's happened to Andre."

"Most of it." May replied. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I just can't believe that Andre was such a bad guy."

"That is a misconception that many people in this city still seem to have." A familiar voice cut in. Everyone looked to see Marie standing in the room wearing a black bathrobe. "Even though he was seen on television bragging about how he murdered my father and framed me for a crime I didn't commit."

"Marie, I do hope you're not going to give May a hard time during her stay here." Desmond spoke.

"Oh relax, Desmond. I'm not going to give her any trouble." Marie assured him as she sat down. "I just wanted to make it crystal clear to her the kind of man my bastard cousin really was."

"Dad, is there some reason you stopped by other than to say hi?" Lisa asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"I simply wanted to come by and ask if you two intend to come to the big event at the museum tonight." Desmond revealed. "Many old friends of the family will be there, and I'm sure they'd all be delighted to see you."

"What's this event?" May asked.

"The museum is celebrating the unveiling an artifact known as the Red Orb tonight." Desmond explained. "You're more than welcome to attend."

"Sounds interesting." May replied. "Okay then, I'll be there."

"And what about you two?" Desmond asked Lisa and Marie.

"Well Marie?" Lisa asked.

"…Oh, I guess it wouldn't hurt to show up." Marie decided after a moment. "But we can't promise to stay the entire evening."

"Marvelous." Desmond replied as he got to his feet. "Well, I'm afraid I should be going. I have business to attend to. I'll see you both later tonight." And with that, Desmond left the room.

"Well, I think I'll go out to the yard and start training for the contest." May decided. "I want to make sure my routine is perfect."

May then got up and left the room. As she left, Emma walked in and delivered Lisa and Marie their breakfast. With her task completed, Emma walked out, leaving the couple alone.

"You sure you're okay with going to that party at the museum?" Lisa asked. "It's not like you have a good experience with those orbs."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Marie told her. "In a way, I kind of feel like going to this damn event will help me move from what happened back then."

"It's not just the orb though. I feel like a lot of the people at this party won't be very accepting of our relationship." Lisa pointed out. "Even Emma seems to have a problem with us being a couple."

"As if I care what the snobs of this city all think of us." Marie replied. "They'll just all have to deal with it. So will Emma. She's a bit terrified of me you know."

"I just want this visit here to be as painless for you as possible." Lisa told her.

"I know, but in a way our stay here is just a challenge that I have to overcome." Marie told her. "Like it or not, this city is where we're from. It's our home, and I feel like if I can't stay here even for a simple visit I'll never fully be able to escape my past."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lisa sighed. "But you're sure you can handle this party tonight?"

Marie took Lisa's hand. "I can handle anything as long as I have you."

Lisa smiled and leaned over to kiss Marie on the lips. "I really do love you."

"I love you too." Marie told her.

* * *

As evening fell upon Lilycove City, many people had gathered at the art museum for the grand unveiling of the Red Orb. Most of the people attending the event were members of the city's upper crust. The event was being held in the museum's art history wing, where the orb had been placed in a glass case on a pedestal that was currently underneath a red satin cloth. Marie and Lisa stood near a painting on the far side of the room with May and Desmond waiting for the unveiling. After what seemed like almost twenty minutes, the museum's curator finally walked up behind a podium that had been set up by the orb.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the curator began. "Thank you all for coming here tonight. It is my great pleasure to unveil one of the Hoenn Region's oldest and most fabled objects. Behold! The Red Orb!"

With that, four nearly invisible strings pulled the satin cloth upward, revealing a glass box containing a large red spherical gem. Many of the people gathered in the room applauded upon seeing the orb.

The curator waited a few moments for the crowd to fall silent before speaking again. "As many of you know, the Red Orb is the twin to the fabled Blue Orb, which sadly was lost to us months ago in a strange incident involving various criminal organizations. The orb will be on display here for the next four months, after which it will be enshrined at the temple atop Mt. Pyre. So for now, please enjoy yourselves."

The curator stepped away from the podium and everyone else began to mingle. Marie, Lisa and May stepped up to take a closer look at the orb.

"It certainly is pretty." May remarked. "But what happened to this Blue Orb that the guy was talking about?"

"It's a long story." Marie told her.

"Lisa." A voice spoke, causing her and the others to turn around.

Standing behind them was a man with light-blue hair wearing a black tuxedo with a purple cummerbund. Pined to his lapel was a wing-shaped pin with a blue marble-like gemstone.

"Steven?" Lisa responded.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" the man known as Steven replied.

"At least a couple of years." Lisa told him.

"Hello, Steven." Marie greeted, getting his attention.

"Oh! Hi, Marie." Steven greeted back. "I should've known I'd run into you too."

"So I take it you've heard about my glorious return from the dead." Marie assumed.

"Yes, and about Andre." Steven replied. "I'm really sorry about what he did to you. It's actually a little hard for me to take, since he was such a good friend of mine."

"Yes, I've been hearing that a lot ever since I returned to the city." Marie told him.

"Ah! Wait a minute! You're Steven Stone, the Hoenn League Champion." May suddenly realized.

"And you're May Wilson, one of Hoenn's top coordinators." Steven observed.

"Oh, I do okay." May modestly replied. "I'm still nowhere near as good as coordinators like Wallace."

"There you are, my boy." Another voice interrupted, getting everyone's attention.

Walking up with Desmond was an older gentleman with white hair wearing a dark-grey tuxedo. The man bore a slight resemblance to Steven.

"Hi dad." Steven responded. "I was just catching up with Lisa."

"Hello, Mr. Stone." Lisa greeted.

"Lisa, it's nice seeing you again after all this time." Mr. Stone told her. "And Marie, it's good to see you again too."

"Mr. Stone." Marie coldly responded.

"So how 'bout this Red Orb, huh?" Mr. Stone asked. "Marie, I certainly hope you're not planning to steal this orb too."

"What the hell kind of crack was that?" Lisa snapped.

"Dad!" Steven protested.

"Lisa!" Desmond responded. "You shouldn't raise your voice to Mr. Stone like that!"

"No, no. She's right to be mad." Mr. Stone told him. "That was a pretty bad joke, I'm sorry."

"Dad, maybe you and Mr. Flare should go discuss that business you came here to talk to him about." Steven suggested.

"Good idea." Mr. Stone agreed. "Let's go, Desmond."

With that, Desmond and Mr. Stone left for the door. Steven let out a heavy sigh once they were gone.

"I'm really sorry for my dad just now." Steven told Marie and Lisa. "His sense of humor's always been kind of off."

"Yeah, I know." Lisa replied. "I still remember some of those lame magic tricks he'd do for me and Marie whenever you guys came to visit. So did you come all the way back to this city to see the orb?"

"Well, you know me and my love for rare stones." Steven replied. "But I mostly came back here because I haven't been in Hoenn for a while. I've spent the last year and a half in the Kalos Region doing some research."

"Kalos? That's pretty far off." Lisa recalled.

"I also came back here because my dad mentioned that you were here visiting over the phone." Steven revealed. "It's really good seeing you happy again. Every time I ran into you when I visited Johto, you always seemed so depressed."

As Lisa and Steven continued to talk, May pulled Marie aside. "Hey, do you think there might be something going on between Lisa and Steven? They do seem pretty friendly with each other."

"Steven is a very old friend of the family, nothing more." Marie told her.

"I don't know. I think we might be seeing romance blossoming between those two." May grinned. "I mean sure Steven's a bit older than Lisa, but I think it could work."

"If you don't shut up now, I'm going to kill you and hide your body where no one will ever find it." Marie warned.

"Huh? What'd I do?" a confused May asked.

Suddenly the sound of a small explosion rang out and the room filled with black smoke. Storming into the room were several agents of Team Magma. As soon as the Magma grunts cornered almost everyone in the room, Courtney calmly walked in.

"Attention everyone! I am Courtney, a commander of Team Magma!" the purple-haired woman announced. "We have come here to take possession of the Red Orb. Cooperate, and none of you will be harmed."

"You have no right to take the Red Orb!" Steven told her as he stepped forward.

"Well, well. If it isn't the champion of the Hoenn League." Courtney observed. "But as skilled a trainer as you are, I'm afraid you won't be able to win a battle against all of us."

"Then it's a good thing he's not fighting alone." Marie cut in. "I'll handle Courtney. The rest of you can take care of her thugs."

"Um, don't you think you should let Steven handle the boss girl?" May suggested. "He is the Hoenn Region champion, after all."

"What did I tell you before about shutting up?" Marie reminded her.

"So you all want a fight, eh?" Courtney observed. "Fine with me. Mightyena Squad, attack!"

A few of the Magma grunts threw out several Pokeballs. Bursting out of each one was a large grey and black dog-like creature with red eyes.

"Go, Camerupt!" Courtney called as she threw out her own Pokeball.

Bursting out of Courtney's ball was a good-sized camel-like creature with pinkish-red fur two pairs of blue circles on each side of its body. It had short legs, and two humps on its back in the form of two small volcanoes.

"Go, Zoroark!" Marie called with her own throw. The monster fox emerged from his ball to face Camerupt.

"Let's go, Aggron!" Steven called as he threw a ball of his own.

Busting out of Steven's Pokeball was a large dark-grey creature almost similar to a dinosaur or lizard. It stood on its hind legs and had a very well developed tail. Grey armored plates almost resembling a mask covered its face. Growing through two holes on the plate covering its forehead were two long straight horns.

"Go, Entei!" Lisa called with the throw of her own Pokeball.

Emerging from Lisa's Pokeball was a large brown lion-like Pokemon with white paws and a cream-colored underside. On its back was a large almost cape-like growth that looked like billowing grey smoke. The beast's face looked as if it were a mask with a three-pointed yellow crest on the forehead, red panels on the sides, and a white plate on the front that looked like a mustache.

"Wow! An Entei?" an amazed May observed.

"Are you going to help or not?" Marie asked her.

"Oh yeah, right." May replied as she dug out a Pokeball. "Go Venusaur!"

Bursting out of May's thrown ball was a large blue-green dinosaur-like creature with four legs and a large head with two small pointed ears. All over its body were small green spots, with two spots on its forehead in the shape of hearts. Growing out of the creature's back was a large tropical plant with a red and white flower on the top.

"Aggron, use Flash Cannon!" Steven commanded.

Aggron opened its armored jaws and fired out an intense beam of white light at some of the Mightyena, turning its head to strike as many of them as possible. Many of the dog-like Pokemon were knocked out by the attack.

"Entei, attack the Mightyena with Flamethrower!" Lisa ordered.

The legendary fire lion opened its mouth and breathed out a stream of flames at more of the grey and black dog Pokemon. Many of the Mightyena were struck and knocked onto their sides.

"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!" May commanded.

The large tropical leaves on the sides of plant on Venusaur's back lifted and several leaf-like blades shot out at another part of the Mightyena pack. Five of the beasts were struck, while the rest of the pack charged at Venusaur. As soon as three of the Mightyena got in range, they bit Venusaur hard on the legs.

"Zoroark, attack Camerupt with Night Daze!" Marie commanded.

Zoroark's eyes began to glow blue and his body gave off a massive crimson aura that formed cracks on the ground. The monster fox then raised his arms in the air above his head, only to swing them back down hard, sending a massive wave of crimson energy at Camerupt. The camel Pokemon was struck by the wave and nearly knocked backward. When the attack ended, Camerupt staggered on its feet a bit.

"Camerupt, fight back with Eruption!" Courtney commanded.

"Zoroark, move in and strike back with Dark Pulse!" Marie ordered.

Camerupt growled and fired plumes of lava from the humps on its back straight towards the air. Much of the lava came back towards the ground towards Zoroark, but the fox quickly dodged the attack and charged towards Camerupt. Once he got in range, Zoroark opened his mouth and fired several rings made of black energy at the camel, hitting it in the forehead.

"Now, finish it with Night Slash!" Marie commanded.

Zoroark continued to charge at Camerupt as his claws began to glow red. As soon as got up close, Zoroark slashed the camel Pokemon in the forehead. Camerupt collapsed onto his side and was unconscious. Cursing under her breath, Courtney called Camerupt back to its Pokeball.

"So is that all you've got?" Marie asked. "I would've thought you'd be stronger for a high ranking officer of Team Magma."

Before Courtney could respond, a piercing screech sounded throughout the room, forcing everyone to cover their ears. The sound caused the glass case that the Red Orb was in to shatter. Marie glanced upward as the sound died down and saw Zinnia standing over an open panel in the museum's glass ceiling with Aster.

"Go, Altaria!" Zinna called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball Zinnia threw was a sky-blue bird like creature with a long neck and a body and wings covered in white cloud-like feathers. The bird swooped down and grabbed the Red Orb with its talons before flying back up to its master.

"Commander, I have the Red Orb!" Zinnia told Courtney.

"Fine then. We're leaving." Courtney decided. "Koffing Squad, deploy the smokescreen!"

More of the Team Magma agents threw out Pokeballs, sending out floating purple sphere-shaped creatures. Each one had a face and a white skull-shaped symbol on its body. The Koffing all released a thick black smoke that covered the entire room. By the time the smoke cleared, Courtney and her thugs had all vanished, as had Zinnia.

"Damn! They got away!" Lisa observed.

"Why did they take the orb?" May wondered.

"Whatever the reason is, it can't be good." Marie assumed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I apologize if the Pokemon battle seen in this chapter isn't the best one I've written. It's been awhile since I've done Pokemon battles, and large scale battles are still something I'm trying to get better at. Anyway, some of you reading might've noticed that from the descriptions in this chapter I'm using Courtney's redesign from OmegaRuby. The reason for that is I couldn't remember what her original character design looked like and I was too lazy to look it up online.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Marie's Rival

**Author's Note:** Just to let everyone know, this will probably be the last update I'll be able to make to this story for the next couple days. I've entered the final week of my current online class, which means for a couple of days I'll probably be working on another paper. The good news though is that by this Thursday or Friday I can focus totally on this story for the next few weeks. That said, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 3: Marie's Rival

It was a little before 11:30 by the time Marie and Lisa finally returned to the Dantes Mansion. The police had kept everyone who had attended the unveiling at the museum to question them about what happened, and they had many questions for Marie, Lisa, May and Steven due to their attempt to try and stop Courtney and her goons. The whole thing had been especially uncomfortable for Marie. A part of her had dreaded that the police were going to arrest her for the theft of the Red Orb just as they had arrested her for stealing the Blue Orb many years ago, even though she was one of the people who had tried to prevent the Red Orb from being stolen. It also didn't help that Marie couldn't help but think about how friendly Lisa and Steven were with each other during the party. Her little conversation with May had caused her to wonder just how close Lisa and Steven had become in Johto.

"Well, this night ended up being a total disaster." Lisa declared as she and Marie entered their room. "Are you feeling okay, Marie?"

"I'm fine." Marie assured her half truthfully.

"It was kind of a pleasant surprise running into Steven though." Lisa remarked. "I had no idea he had been in Kalos."

"How often did you and he run into each other in Johto?" Marie asked.

"Oh, I bumped into him a few times while I'd be hunting Entei." Lisa replied. "He knows a lot of evolution stone traders in Johto. I'd also see him a few times while training at Mt. Silver. He liked to go look for rare stones in the caves up there. Actually, the times when I bumped into Steven were some of the few times I actually had fun while I was in Johto."

"Yes, I'm sure you and he became quite close up there." Marie bitterly assumed.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Lisa asked. "I can tell that something's bothering you."

"Is there something between you and Steven that I don't know about?" Marie responded. "Because if there, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me now instead of you just leading me on."

Lisa came over and hugged Marie from behind. "Whatever gave you such a silly idea?"

"Well… that airhead May thought that there was some kind of romantic chemistry from the way you and Steven were so friendly with one another." Marie explained. "And I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was onto something. I mean you thought I was dead, plus there's the obvious fact that Steven's a man, while I'm…"

Before Marie could finish, Lisa turned her around and silenced her with a very fiery kiss to the lips. Marie relaxed into the kiss and they stayed like that for several moments before Lisa pulled away.

"Marie, you're the one that I love most in the whole world." Lisa told her. "I spent all those years trying to move on from the pain of losing you, but I never could. I did have some fun with Steven when he was there, but he can never replace you in my heart."

"…Do you really mean that?" Marie asked.

"With all my heart." Lisa assured her. "Now, let me show you just how much I love you."

Lisa then turned Marie back around with her arms still around her and began to suck on part of the blonde's neck. Marie let out a deep moan of pleasure in response. It always drove her wild when Lisa would kiss that spot on her neck. She was now putty in Lisa's hands.

* * *

Courtney entered Maxie's office with the Red Orb in hand with Zinnia and Aster following her. As they walked in, they saw Tabitha standing in front of Maxie's desk giving some kind of status report.

Courtney walked up and placed the orb on the desk. "Sir, I'm glad to inform you that the mission was a complete success."

"So I see." Maxie smiled as he picked up the orb. "Now we at last have everything we need. I trust that it wasn't too much trouble to get the orb."

"Actually I did have a few problems." Courtney admitted. "Steven Stone, the champion of Hoenn was at the unveiling. So was some girl who had somehow captured the legendary Pokemon, Entei."

"One of Johto's Legendary Beasts?" a surprised Tabitha asked.

"Yeah. There was also some hotshot Pokemon Coordinator and this blonde girl with a tough Zoroark." Courtney reported. "As much as I hate to admit it, we probably wouldn't have the orb if it wasn't for the new girl."

"Well then, it seems you are to be commended, Ms. Zinnia." Maxie observed. "You have done our cause a great service."

"It was nothing, sir." Zinna told him. "I was only doing my job."

"Well we may have the orb, but I'm a little concerned about Steven Stone and these other trainers." Tabitha spoke. "They could cause problems for us."

"I don't think that this group is a serious cause for alarm." Maxie told them as he put down the orb. "Once we awaken Groudon, there will be no one who will be able to stop us. But are right to be cautious, Tabitha. We should not let down our guard. How long until the device that will let us wield the orb is repaired?"

"The technicians reported that the staff should be ready by tomorrow afternoon at the latest." Tabitha answered.

"Very well. Then until that time, I want everyone to be on high alert." Maxie ordered. "We've come too close to afford a single mistake."

* * *

It was fairly early in the morning as Lisa made her way down to the breakfast table. When she got there, she saw May sitting at the table reading the newspaper. Lisa was a little irked at May for causing Marie to get jealous the night before, but she kept her emotions in check.

As Lisa sat down, May looked up and noticed her. "Oh! Good morning, Lisa."

"Hi." Lisa replied. "So I'm guessing what happened at the museum last night made the paper."

"Yep. I still can't believe we let those Team Magma guys get away." May replied. "It might not have happened if I had brought out Twinkle."

"Twinkle?" Lisa repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I'm guessing that's the nickname of one of your Pokemon."

"That's right." May confirmed. "He's sort of my secret weapon. Well, I guess he's not really a he, actually. But in a way I've had him since I was little."

"Um, okay." Lisa replied.

"Anyway, I wonder what this Team Magma wants with the orb?" May continued. "I mean I've heard of Team Magma and that other group, Team Aqua, but I've never really understood what it is they've been trying to do."

"Team Magma and Team Aqua are two environmental extremist groups." A familiar voice explained. Lisa and May looked up to see Marie sitting down at the table. "Team Aqua's goal was to expand the planet's oceans with the intention of creating more habitats for aquatic Pokemon."

"But wouldn't that have meant less homes for people?" May asked.

"I imagine so." Marie answered. "Unless of course people learned to live underwater. As for Team Magma, their goal has always been the opposite of Team Aqua's. What they want to do is expand the planet's landmasses to create more habitats for land dwelling Pokemon."

"I guess that doesn't sound too bad though." May assumed. "I mean it'd probably mean more homes for people too, that is if I'm understanding things right."

"Perhaps, but it would also probably mean that most of this world would probably become a barren desert. And that is a world that I want no part of."

"That is a good point, I guess." May admitted. "Well, I think I'll go outside and train. I'll see you both later." With that, May got up and left the room.

"She really is kind of clueless." Lisa remarked. "Why exactly are you letting her stay at the guesthouse?"

"It was my father who extended the invitation to her." Marie explained. "It was the sort of kind thing that he always did. I felt like I couldn't turn May away and revoke such an act of kindness."

"I can understand that." Lisa replied. "You're just as kind as your dad was. You always have been."

"Perhaps. Though if May's not careful, I may end up strangling her before she leaves." Marie remarked.

"Look, forget about her for now." Lisa told her. "Right now I want you to be totally relaxed, and I'm going to make sure that you are."

"Oh really?" Marie replied with a smirk. "Just what did you have in mind?"

"Follow me into the sitting room and I'll show you." Lisa answered before giving her a passionate kiss.

* * *

May stood out in the courtyard in front of the mansion throwing white plates to Venusaur. The botanical reptile struck each plate with one of her vine whips. It was all part of a new routine that May had been working on for the contest, but she wasn't sure if it was perfect yet. As May and Venusaur practiced, Steven walked up to the house wearing a plum-colored suit with a white shirt, red tie and two grey bands around his upper arms. Pinned to the lapel of his jacket was the same decorative pin he had worn at the unveiling. In his hands, the blue-haired man carried a black box with a silver bow on the top.

"Hi Steven!" May greeted as she noticed him walking up.

"Hello, May." Steven greeted back. "Training for your next contest, I take it?"

"Yep. So what brings you here?" May asked.

"I just wanted to drop by and see how Lisa was doing." Steven answered. "Plus I wanted to give her a little something I found for her in Kalos."

"Oh really." May grinned. "You must really like Lisa if you brought her something all the way from Kalos."

"Well, I am pretty fond of her." Steven admitted with a slight blush. "So is she here?"

"Uh-huh. She should be in the house somewhere." May told him. "I'll help you find her."

With that, May led Steven into the house. The two of them searched the ground floor for a few moments before they suddenly heard soft moans coming from the sitting room. They found Lisa and Marie on the couch. They were both fully clothed, but Lisa was on top of Marie kissing her on the neck. The two of them were so lost in one another that they didn't once notice Steven and May standing in the doorway. May simply stood there with her jaw hanging open wide enough for a car to drive into it. Steven was just as shocked, though his expression was not as animated as May's. After a moment, the two of them left the sight of Lisa and Marie making out and went back outside.

"Oh, wow! I had no idea!" May exclaimed. "I mean Emma said that Lisa and Marie were close but… wow!"

"Lisa and Marie had always been very good friends. But I never thought that they felt so strongly about one another." Steven replied. "Though I guess this explains why Lisa was so devastated when we all thought that Marie had died."

"I guess this must be pretty hard on you, huh?" May assumed. "I mean maybe I'm wrong, but you are in love with Lisa, aren't you?"

At this, Steven chuckled darkly. "How could you tell?"

"Oh, just a feeling I got when I saw you and Lisa at the party last night." May answered. "So I guess I was right, huh?"

"You know… I wasn't always in love with Lisa." Steven admitted. "But as she got older and the more time I spent with her in Johto, my feelings for her started to become something more. At some point I started to think that if Lisa could finally get over losing Marie, she and I might have a chance."

"Well… maybe you still do." May assumed.

"What do you mean by that?" Steven asked.

"I'm saying that maybe you could try fighting for Lisa." May suggested.

"I hardly think that would work." Steven told her. "For one thing, it seems pretty clear that Lisa wouldn't at all be interested in me in any guy."

"We don't know that for sure. She might like guys too." May replied. "If you're really in love with her, you should at least try."

"And what makes you think I'd succeed?" Steven asked.

"Back when I first started out on my Pokemon journey I met this trainer from Kanto named Ash." May began. "We decided to travel together, and I ended up falling for him pretty quickly. But there was this other girl with him named Misty who also seemed to really like him. After Ash fought in the Hoenn League, he and Misty continued to travel together. I was pretty crushed when he left with her, though I didn't say anything. But I'm sure that if I ever run into Ash again I'll be able to win him over."

"That is a nice thought, if a little naïve." Steven admitted. "But I don't think fighting to win Lisa over is going to accomplish anything but cause suffering. Although… maybe fighting Marie isn't such a bad idea."

* * *

It was early in the afternoon as Marie took a walk out in the backyard with Zoroark. She felt much more relaxed than she had been the night before, and was no longer concerned about Lisa having feelings for Steven. Marie had to admit that it was foolish to think that there was something going on between them, yet there was a part of her that was terrified of losing Lisa after all that had passed between them during Marie's time as Noir Mask. But after late night and morning Marie had experienced, it seemed that Lisa had been able to lay many of those fears to rest.

"Nice day, isn't it Marie?" a familiar voice asked. Marie and Zoroark turned around to see Steven standing a few feet away.

"Hello Steven. What brings you here?" Marie asked.

"Let's just say I have a few concerns." Steven answered. "You've been gone for years, Marie. And I imagine that you've become a different person in that time. I want to see just kind of person that is."

"And just how are you going to determine that?" Marie asked.

"By challenging you to a battle right here and now." Steven told her. "It'll be a simple two-on-two battle. What do you say?"

"A battle with you, eh? Alright, I'll take you on." Marie decided. "But you had better be prepared, because I'm not going to show you any mercy."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Originally I was going to have Bianca show up in this story to cause a bit of jealousy between Lisa and Marie. Those of you reading familiar with my other Pokemon stories might recall that Marie and Bianca crossed paths in _Best Wishes Revised_. But for various reasons I decided to go with Steven. One of those reasons is simply because he's kind of a cool character that I haven't used before. I just hope I haven't gotten him a bit OOC in this story. If I did, I apologize.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Mega Revolution

**Author's Note:** Well, I'm back. And the good news is that now I've finished all my work for my online class, I can focus a lot more of my energy on this story. In theory, I should have it done before Christmas. The bad news though is I may not be able to update this story tomorrow. My internet provider is going to be tinkering with some stuff tonight, and depending on how things go I may be without internet for a good chunk of the day tomorrow. Then again, everything may go smoothly and it'll be business as usual. Just thought I'd give everyone a heads-up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 4: Mega Revolution

"You shouldn't take me lightly, you know." Steven told Marie. "I am the champion of Hoenn, after all."

"Don't worry. I know exactly who I'm up against." Marie assured him. "But you shouldn't take me lightly either."

"Well then, I guess we should get started." Steven decided as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Aggron!" Steven's armored Pokemon emerged from its ball with a roar.

"Go Hydreigon!" Marie called out with the throw of her own ball.

Bursting out of Marie's Pokeball was a three-headed dragon that was black with a blue underside. It had six black wings that looked like streamers of tattered cloth. All three of its faces were blue, and around each of its necks were what could be described as fuchsia-colored flower petals. The dragon hovered in the air and its two legs had regressed into simple stocks. By the time Marie had sent out Hydreigon, Lisa and May had arrived on the scene and noticed the battle.

"Why the heck are Marie and Steven having a battle?" Lisa wondered.

"I think I know." May answered with a knowing smirk. "I think Steven is trying to prove something to a certain someone."

"What do you…?" Lisa began to ask, but in an instant it all became crystal clear. "Wait, you honestly think that Steven is interested in me?"

"I happen to know for a fact that he is." May winked. "And right now he's trying to prove himself to you."

"Oh god!" Lisa exclaimed with a heavy sigh. This was the last thing that she wanted to deal with.

"A Hydreigon, impressive." Steven told Marie. "That's the most difficult Dragon Pokemon a trainer can raise."

"My dear Hydreigon's a sweetheart. At least he is to me." Marie replied. "To your Aggron though, he's not going to be as nice."

"Fine by me." Steven replied. "Aggron! Attack Hydreigon with Iron Head!"

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!" Marie ordered.

Aggron charged at the dragon as the armored plate on its head began to glow with a white light. Before it could get in range though, Hydreigon managed to fly out of the way at the last second. The three-headed dragon went around behind the metal beast and struck it in the back with three streams of red flames from all three of his mouths that joined into a single stream. When the attack ended, the metal plates on Aggron's back were glowing red-hot.

"Looks like your Aggron was burned." Marie observed.

"Aggron, fight back with Flash Cannon!" Steven commanded.

"Use Swagger!" Marie ordered.

After recovering from the attack, Aggron turned around and blasted Hydreigon with a beam of light from its jaws. The dragon was struck in the chest, but seemed unfazed by the attack. Hydreigon then began to glow with a red aura and hissed at Aggron. Suddenly Aggron roared and its eyes began to glow red.

"Now Aggron's confused." Lisa observed on the sidelines. "Combined with that burn, it may not last much longer."

"Aggron, use Metal Claw!" Steven commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Marie ordered.

The enraged armored beast charged at Hydreigon as the claws on its right hand began to glow white. But just as it was about to get in range, Aggron tripped and fell hard into the ground. Hydreigon then moved in close so that he was hovering about Aggron and blasted it in the back with another stream of flames. When the attack had ended, Hydreigon was out like a light. Seeing that Aggron was no longer able to fight, Steven called it back to its ball.

"Well that was disappointing." Marie remarked. "I would've thought that the champion of Hoenn would've given me more of a challenge."

"I was just trying you out before." Steven told her. "It seems that whatever you've been up to while you were gone has made you a very strong trainer. Now that I know what you're capable of, I'm not going to hold anything back. Go, Metagross!"

Bursting out of Steven's second Pokeball was a large blue metallic creature with a saucer-like body with four long legs. On the front of its body were two red eyes and a large silver X. Its legs were thicker and longer towards the bottom. Around the metal creature's front right leg was an ornate metal band with a spherical gemstone embedded in it.

"Wow! A Metagross! I heard that's supposed to be Steven's strongest Pokemon." May recalled.

"What's that thing around Metagross's leg?" Lisa wondered. "I've never seen an item like that before."

"You mean that jewelry Metagross has on?" May asked. "Now that you mention it, I've never seen a Pokemon wearing anything like that either."

"So you're finally going all out against me." Marie observed. "You do know however that being a psychic-type, Metagross has a disadvantage against my dark-type Hydreigon."

"Type advantage isn't everything, you know." Steven pointed out. "Let's go, Metagross!"

With that, Steven touched the pin on his jacket and the gem embedded in it started to glow. At the same time, the gemstone on Metagross's leg began to glow as well, and in seconds it was enveloped in an explosion of blue light. In seconds the light faded and Metagross had taken on a new form. It now floated in the air and its legs had moved on its body so that they pointed forward. The end of each leg had gained three large white claws. Its back end had gained additional limbs that resembled thrusters, making the metal Pokemon look like some kind of spacecraft. The silver X on the front of its face had turned gold and had gained points on the ends. A multicolored light in the form of a DNA strand glowed briefly above Metagross before suddenly vanishing.

"What the hell?" a shocked Lisa exclaimed.

"Whoa! What's… what's going on?" an equally shocked May wondered. "It's almost like… Metagross evolved."

"But that's impossible! At most, a Pokemon can only evolve twice! And Metagross was already fully evolved!" Lisa pointed out.

"What is this?" Marie demanded to know. "What have you done, Steven?"

"What you've just seen is the very reason why I went to the Kalos Region." Steven revealed. "During my studies into evolution stone, I learned of rumors about a certain kind of stone that allowed fully evolved and non-evolving Pokemon to reach a new stage of evolution during a battle. I thought that there might be something to that rumor, so I traveled to Kalos to learn more. As you've just seen, the rumors turned out to be true."

"That bracelet that Metagross was wearing. That had the stone you were talking about, didn't it?" Marie realized.

"That's right." Steven confirmed. "The transformation Metagross just went through is called Mega Evolution, and its currently one of the only known Pokemon who can undergo such a transformation. Mega Evolution is still a very new discovery, and nobody knows the exact number of Pokemon that can do it. It all depends on the kind of stones that are discovered."

"So I guess what it comes down to is that I shouldn't take this battle lightly for even a moment." Marie observed.

"Right you are." Steven confirmed. "Alright Metagross, hit Hydreigon with Meteor Mash!"

Metagross's claws began to glow and its body began to give off a mist-like multicolored aura. The ship-like Pokemon took off at Hydreigon like shooting star and rammed into the dragon's chest hard. Hydreigon was hurled back several feet by the attack.

"That attack looks like it did a lot of damage." May observed.

"I should also mention that the ability Metagross has in this form is called Hone Claws, which boosts the power of physical attacks like Meteor Mash." Steven revealed.

"If Marie doesn't end this quick, Hydreigon's finished." Lisa realized.

"Hydreigon, attack with Flamethrower!" Maire ordered.

"Use Bullet Punch!" Steven commanded.

Metagross flew at Hydreigon again as the claws on its right upper arm began to glow white. As soon as the ship-like Pokemon came in range, Hydreigon fired another stream of flames that hit it in the face. Metagross plowed through the attack and its right upper arm moved back. When Metagross got in range, its arm swung forward and punched Hydreigon in the face of its left head. The attack caused the dragon to fall towards the ground.

"Fight back with Dark Pulse!" Marie commanded.

Just before the dragon was about to hit the ground, he recovered and turned over in the air. From beneath Metagross, Hydreigon fired several rings made of black energy. The barrage of rings stuck the ship Pokemon's undercarriage and caused it to wobble in the air.

"Not bad, but not good enough!" Steven declared. "Finish it, Metagross! Meteor Mash!"

"Flamethrower!" Marie ordered.

Metagross rotated in the air so that it was pointing down at Hydreigon. Its claws began to glow and its body became shrouded in the same multicolored mist from before. As Metagross flew down towards Hydreigon, the dragon let loose another stream of flames that struck the starship Pokemon in the face. Metagross was hit, but plowed through the attack just as before. Metagross impacted with Hydreigon and the force of the attack hurled him into the ground, making a crater. When it was over, Hydreigon was out cold.

"Looks like Steven's pretty much got this one in the bag." May assumed.

"I'm not so sure. Hydreigon's attacks still did a lot of damage." Lisa pointed out. "There's no way Metagross could've flew through those Flamethrower attacks without getting hurt."

"Yeah, but c'mon. Steven is the champion, after all." May pointed out. "And I can't really think of any Pokemon that can take down that powered up Metagross."

"You've put up a good fight." Steven told Marie as she called back Hydreigon. "But it looks like we've about reached the end of this battle. I doubt you have any Pokemon that can overcome my Metagross."

"Don't be so sure." Marie told him as she pulled out another Pokeball. "Go… Darkrai!"

Emerging from Marie's thrown ball was a shadowy creature with an hourglass-shaped body. The creature had no legs and simply hovered in the air. Its hair resembled a billowing white ghostly flame and covered one of its light-blue eyes. Around its neck was a large somewhat spiky growth that resembled a necklace of red beads. The rest of its body was black and tattered.

May went a bit pale upon seeing the creature. "That… that eye! I think I saw that eye looking at me when I first came here."

"A Darkrai?" a stunned Steven observed. "How on earth did you catch such a Pokemon?"

"It's a long story." Marie told him. "But I can tell you that Darkrai is the very first Pokemon I ever captured."

"That… that's her first catch?" a shocked May asked. "How is that possible?"

"Well, Darkrai may be a Legendary Pokemon, but it can't stand against Metagross!" Steven declared. "Metagross, use Meteor Mash once more!"

"Dark Void!" Marie commanded.

Just as Metagross prepared to launch another attack, Darkrai swiftly raised its arms forward and struck the starship Pokemon with a ball of black energy. Metagross was hit in the face and collapsed to the ground in a deep sleep. Suddenly its body began to convulse.

"What's happening to Metagross?" May asked.

"It's having a nightmare." Lisa explained. "That's Darkrai's power."

"Now Darkrai! Hit it with Dark Pulse while it's down!" Marie commanded.

Darkrai brought its arms forward again and struck Metagross with a barrage of black energy rings. Metagross continued to suffer from its nightmare as the rings pelted its body.

"Snap out of it, Metagross!" Steven called. "Wake up and use Meteor Mash!"

Suddenly Metagross's eyes opened back up and began to glow. It rose back off the ground and became shrouded in another mist-like aura.

"Once more, Darkrai! Dark Pulse!" Marie commanded.

As Metagross zoomed towards Darkrai, the shadow Pokemon fired one more barrage of dark rings. Metagross was stuck in the face right as it had only gotten inches away from Darkrai and suddenly collapsed. Metagross's body glowed and in seconds it changed back to its original form. Marie breathed a sigh of relief as Steven called back Metagross.

"No way! I can't believe Steven lost like that." May declared.

As soon as Marie called back Darkrai, Lisa ran over and put her arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "That battle actually made me a little nervous."

"You're not the only one." Marie replied.

"You're a pretty strong trainer, Marie." Steven admitted. "Your Pokemon are well trained, the kind of training that comes from having a strong bond. Now I have a better idea of the kind of person you are."

"You gave me quite a challenge, Steven." Marie told him. "I enjoyed our battle."

"I only ask that you do me one favor." Steven requested. "Take good care of Lisa."

With that, Steven turned and began to walk away. Lisa let out a heavy sigh as he left.

"Well, that was pretty exciting." May remarked, getting their attention. "I think I'll go do a little more training. Later, you two." With that, she quickly walked off.

"Am I right in thinking that Steven might've been trying to prove something in this battle?" Marie asked.

"Yep, this was probably some kind of macho thing." Lisa assumed. "I may have to have a little talk with Steven later."

* * *

It had only been a few minutes after Marie's battle as Lisa walked into the kitchen to make herself a quick sandwich for lunch. As soon as she entered the room though, she saw Steven standing by the sink drinking a glass of water.

Steven quickly noticed Lisa standing in the room. "Oh… hi."

"Hi there." Lisa replied, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. "That was a pretty close battle you had."

"Yeah. Marie's a strong trainer. One of the strongest I've ever seen." Steven replied.

"…Okay, I'm just going to come out and ask." Lisa decided. "Are you in love with me?"

"Well… actually I am." Steven admitted as he face turned a bit red. "I kind of have been for a few years. But I know that you aren't interested in me. May and I saw you and Marie together earlier."

"So that battle before. Was that you trying to fight for me?" Lisa asked.

"Not really." Steven answered. "I mostly wanted to battle Marie to get a better idea of the kind of person she was. I was concerned that you might be going out with the wrong person, but I can see that you're in good hands."

"Marie's the kindest person I've ever known. That hasn't changed even after all the pain she's been through." Lisa told him.

"The important thing is that you're happy." Steven told her. "But… I guess this means you and I don't have a chance, huh?"

"Steven, I do like you, but my heart will always belong to Marie." Lisa replied. "You… you're like the older brother I never had."

"Oh…" a crestfallen Steven responded. "Well… I guess that's something. Look, one of the reasons I came by today is to give you something."

"Okay… what is it?" Lisa asked, not certain if she wanted to know.

Steven produced the black box he had brought with him when he came to the mansion. Upon removing the lid, Steven pulled out a smaller black satin box like the kind used for jewelry. He opened the box to reveal an ornate gold bracelet made to fit Lisa's wrist. The front of the bracelet was shaped to look like a flame with a round blue stone in the center.

"Okay, did you not hear a word of the conversation we just had?" Lisa asked.

"No, it's not like that." Steven told her. "I mean it was originally, but… look, see the stone set in the bracelet? It's the same kind of stone as the one in my pin."

Lisa looked from the bracelet to the pin that Steven had on his jacket. The stones set in both pieces of jewelry looked the same.

"Yeah, there's no way in hell you and I are wearing matching jewelry." Lisa told him.

"No! Look, this stone is called a keystone." Steven explained. "It's one of the things needed to Mega Evolve a Pokemon."

"Wait, what?" Lisa asked.

"The mega stone like the one Metagross was wearing is only part of the requirement for Mega Evolution." Steven explained. "The primary catalyst to Mega Evolve a Pokemon is for that Pokemon and its trainer to have a strong bond with one another. When trainer and Pokemon have such a bond, the keystone and mega stone resonate with one another and trigger the evolution."

"Okay, but why are you giving me one of these keystones?" Lisa asked.

"Here's the other part of the gift." Steven answered as he reached back into the larger box.

From the box, Steven produced a kind of manacle that looked gold with copper trim. Carved into the sides of the manacle was a flame motif, and set in the top was a spherical stone that looked similar to the one that was on Metagross's leg. The main difference was that the stone in the manacle was more of a red color.

"The mega stone fit into this is called Blazikenite." Steven revealed. "As you can guess, it's the stone that allows a Blaziken to Mega Evolve. When I found the stone while I was in Kalos, I instantly thought of you."

"Oh… wow. So, this means I can get my Blaziken to evolve like your Metagross did?" Lisa asked.

"Of course." Steven confirmed. "At the very least, why don't you and your Blaziken try these on?"

"Well… okay." Lisa agreed. After she slipped on the bracelet Steven gave her, she pulled out a Pokeball from her belt. "Come out, Phoenix!"

Bursting out of the thrown ball was a tall humanoid creature with a red bird-like face and body. It had grey talons for hands, yellow feet, and long blond hair-like feathers that split down the middle like a V. The Pokemon stood at about the same height as Lisa.

"Okay Phoenix, give me your hand." Lisa requested.

The bird Pokemon did as he was told and extended his right arm towards Lisa. Lisa took the manacle from Steven and latched it onto Phoenix's wrist. Phoenix looked at his new piece of jewelry and tilted his head quizzically.

"I don't know how that thing works either, but I'm sure we'll figure it out." Lisa told her Pokemon before turning back to Steven. "Thanks, Steven. This is a pretty good gift."

"Hey, what are older brothers for?" Steven replied.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Another one of the big reasons why I decided to have Steven show up in this story was because he seemed like a good character to introduce the whole Mega Evolution concept to this AU. Or at least introduce it to Lisa and Marie.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Groudon Awakens

**Author's Note:** As it turns out, things with my internet connection turned out better than I thought they would. There was a minor hiccup earlier today, but everything is working as good as ever. So I am pleased to bring you this next epic chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Darkrai also would've gotten a Mega Evolution, as would have many more of my Pokemon favorites.

* * *

Chapter 5: Groudon Awakens

Lisa walked through the halls looking at the bracelet Steven had given her only a few minutes ago. It really was an ornate piece of jewelry. Steven had mentioned that he had gotten it custom made for her. Though as decorative as it was, Lisa was far more interested in the power that the bracelet, which Steven had referred to as a mega ring, would allow her and Phoenix to unlock. She wondered if she really could be able to get her very first Pokemon to Mega Evolve.

As Lisa continued to walk the halls, she passed the study and noticed Marie inside the room hoisting a large leather-bound book off one of the shelves. The tome was so large that it had required Marie to use both of her arms to carry it. As the blonde set the huge book on the polished wooden desk with a thud, Lisa walked into the room.

"Hey there." Lisa spoke as she walked up, getting Marie's attention. "Bet you're feeling pretty good with yourself right now. After all, you did beat the champion of Hoenn."

"I am a little impressed with myself, actually." Marie admitted with a smirk. She glanced at Lisa's wrist and noticed what she was wearing. "What's that?"

"Oh! Just a present that Steven brought me back from Kalos." Lisa explained. "He said this thing is needed to get a Pokemon to Mega Evolve. Turns out Phoenix is able to Mega Evolve too."

"Is that so?" Marie replied.

"You don't have a problem with me wearing this thing, do you?" Lisa asked.

"I suppose not." Marie answered as she sat in the chair behind the desk. "It looks good on you."

"So what're you up to?" Lisa asked as she walked to stand over Marie's shoulder.

"Well, I've been thinking about Team Magma stealing the Red Orb and think I might have an idea about why they did it." Marie explained. "You remember this book, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, this is that book of Legendary Pokemon your dad would show us." Lisa fondly recalled.

When Marie opened up the large book, it opened to a pair of pages somewhere in the middle that appeared to have been referenced very often. The large picture on the left page showed the artist rendering of a blue aquatic creature with a large head and two large almost paddle-like arms. It had yellow eyes, and atop its head were two long antennas. In the center of the creature's chest was a red gemstone. The artist had drawn the creature sitting in a large pink open clamshell that seemed to be underwater.

"I remember your dad going on and on about this Pokemon." Lisa remembered.

"Manaphy, the Prince of the Sea." Marie replied. "My father always dreamed of finding this Pokemon. It's one of the main reason why my family's company is devoted to developing equipment for exploring the ocean."

"I'm guessing that Manaphy isn't the reason why Team Magma stole the orb though." Lisa assumed.

"No, but I think I know what is." Marie told her.

With that, Marie flipped back through the pages of the book until she came to a page with the picture of a blue orca-like Pokemon with large wing-like fins. Marie and Lisa were both quite familiar with this Pokemon.

"Kyogre? What's that Pokemon got to do with this?" Lisa asked.

"I kept thinking about the rivalry Team Magma and Team Aqua had with one another and how their goals were contrary to one another." Marie continued. "And I also remembered how Team Aqua wanted to use Kyogre to expand the oceans. That's when I remembered something about the legend behind Kyogre, and about how it was also said to have a rival."

With the flip of a single page, Marie turned to the picture of another Legendary Pokemon. The picture showed Groudon sitting in a massive pool of lava.

"This is Kyogre's opposite number." Marie continued. "While Kyogre was said to have shaped the oceans, Groudon is said to have shaped the lands and continents. And as we know from experience, Kyogre was able to conjure a rainstorm that could've drowned this entire city. I wouldn't be surprised if Groudon had a similar power that's opposite to Kyogre."

"So you think Team Magma's trying to control Groudon to somehow get it to expand the land." Lisa deduced.

"I think that's exactly what I think they're trying to do." Marie confirmed. "And for all we know they could be very close to doing just that."

"Oh boy. If you're right, then we could have a major problem." Lisa realized. "Right now I'm starting to wish Ash and Misty were visiting so we could have Kyogre to back us up in case Team Magma does succeed in their plan."

"Could we call them to come over?" Marie suggested.

"I wish, but they're all the way out in Kanto right now." Lisa informed her. "Last time I talked to Misty, she said she and Ash were headed to Lavender Town to meet with a friend of theirs."

"Then I guess we're on our own." Marie realized. "And I'm guessing it won't be much longer before Team Magma makes its move."

* * *

Maxie sat in his office trying to read a book, glancing up to look at the Red Orb on his desk every few seconds. The redhead had been finding it very hard to concentrate on other things now that he was so close to achieving his ultimate goal. His long held dream of expanding the land for people and Pokemon alike was finally in his grasp. The only thing now standing in his way were the repairs to a Team Rocket-made piece of equipment. Maxie glanced up on the clock on the wall and wondered what was taking so long for his underlings to complete the repairs.

At long last, the door to his office opened and Tabitha walked in carrying a long black box. Courtney and Zinnia walked in close behind him.

Tabitha stepped before Maxie's desk and kneeled, holding out the device. "Sir, the repairs to the device have finally been completed."

"Then let us not wait a single moment longer." Maxie told him as he got out of his chair.

Maxie walked over and took the box Tabitha had on his desk. Upon opening it up, Maxie began assembling the pieces of the black and silver staff-like device inside. He noticed that the technicians had changed the top of the device to look more like a devil's pitchfork instead of a trident. After securing the Red Orb into the device, Maxie walked over to the large office window and gazed out at the sleeping form of Groudon outside.

"Our world begins today!" Maxie proclaimed as he switched on the device. The pitchfork began to hum and the orb glowed. "Awaken, Groudon!"

Suddenly Groudon's eyes opened and began to glow with a red light. Soon after, the black lines embedded throughout its body began to glow blue. The red lizard let out a loud roar and a pillar of red light shot up from around him through the roof of the cavern.

"Get everyone ready." Maxie ordered his commanders. "Very soon we shall announce ourselves to the world."

* * *

May walked into the mansion and wiped the sweat from her brow. The weather outside had suddenly become incredibly hot out, far too hot for her and Venusaur to continue their training for the contest. May had found it very odd for the weather to shift so quickly but thought very little of it. As she headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water to cool off, she walked by one of the rooms and noticed Lisa and Marie sitting on the couch watching the news. She also noticed that Steven was in the room watching the television with them, which surprised her because she thought he had left.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" May asked as she walked in.

"There's been a development." Marie told her, not once taking her eyes of the screen.

May looked at the T.V. to find out what was so interesting. On the screen was a woman with short green hair wearing a sleeveless white shirt and a pink scarf around her neck.

_"The dramatic changes in weather occurring all over the Hoenn Region are continuing to increase."_ The newscaster on the screen reported. _"Temperatures everywhere are continuing to increase rapidly, and are predicted to reach a record high before the end of the day if this increase continues. Meteorologists at the Weather Institute are at a complete loss to explain the cause of such a dramatic change. Though there is speculation that it has something to do with the strange light phenomenon seen at Mt. Chimney earlier today."_

Suddenly the picture on the screen changed to static. After a moment, the static cleared to show a picture of Maxie holding his pitchfork. Tabitha and Courtney could be seen standing behind him in the background.

_"People of the world! I am Maxie, leader of Team Magma."_ The redheaded mastermind announced. _"By now I'm sure many of you in the Hoenn Region watching this broadcast have noticed a shift in the weather. Those of you who are searching for the cause of this change can search no longer, for it is we who are the cause. In my hands, I hold a tool that has allowed me to awaken and control the Mythical Pokemon known as Groudon. As I'm sure many people in Hoenn may be aware, Groudon is said to have shaped the very land itself._

_"Using Groudon's power, I have magnified the power of the sun's rays, creating a drought that will cause the oceans to recede and allow the landmasses of this world to be expanded. For now this drought shall only affect Hoenn, but will soon expand to encompass the entire world. I'm sure many of you watching are wondering why my followers and I have done this, and the reason for our actions is simple. While it may not seem like it, we caused this drought for the good of the entire world. The power of Groudon will allow us to expand the continents and forge brand new environments for human and Pokemon alike._

_"Think of all the good that will come from having more lands on this planet. The human race will be able to build more cities without having to encroach on the natural habitats that many Pokemon call home. At the very least, the Hoenn Region will become far easier to travel across. I know that many of you viewing this broadcast right now think of me as a villain or a madman, but in time you will see that my followers and I have the best interests of the world at heart. In time everyone shall see that the world that is to come shall be far better than the world that exists now. Long live Team Magma!"_

With that, the image of Maxie was replaced by more static. The static cleared, and the green-haired newscaster from before reappeared and began to report on Team Magma's announcement. Lisa turned off the television, as it was clear the news wasn't going to be telling them anything of value.

"Looks like you two were right." Steven told Lisa and Marie. "Team Magma really has made a move."

"So what do we do?" May asked.

"The only thing we can do. We go confront Team Magma and stop them before they turn the planet into a desert." Marie answered. "It's a pretty safe hunch that their base is hidden at Mt. Chimney. Members of Team Magma have been known to frequent that area, and that's where the light mentioned in the news came from."

"Even if Mt. Chimney is where their headquarters is, we still need to figure out how to stop them." Steven pointed out. "The obvious solution would be to destroy that device Maxie is using to control Groudon. But even if we do destroy the device, Groudon could still go on a rampage."

"There is another solution." Marie told them. "One of us could capture Groudon."

"You really think that might work?" Lisa asked.

"Ash and Misty were able to stop Kyogre by capturing it." Marie pointed out.

"Wait, Ash and Misty?" a surprised May asked.

"A couple of friends of our from Kanto." Lisa explained. "When Andre took control of Kyogre, Ash used Ho-Oh to dispel the rainstorm Kyogre caused. Then he and Ho-Oh weakened Kyogre, allowing Misty to capture it."

"I see. Because Kyogre was in a Pokeball, Andre couldn't control it and make it flood the planet." Steven realized. "So you think the same will work for Groudon?"

"If it's in a Pokeball, it can't cast a drought on the land." Marie pointed out. "Though we will still need to destroy the Red Orb like we destroyed the Blue Orb. I imagine that Maxie could still use it to control Groudon even if it is captured by someone else."

"So your plan is to capture Groudon first, then destroy the orb." Steven observed. "But which of us is going to be the one to try and capture Groudon?"

"I'll do it!" May quickly volunteered. "I'm your girl."

"Um, thanks for the offer, but you don't have to help out." Marie told her. "I'm sure we can handle this on our own."

"Don't be silly. This is the least I can do for letting me stay here." May told her. "Besides, I have my own reasons for wanting to catch Groudon."

"Okay, but Groudon is a pretty powerful Pokemon." Lisa pointed out. "I don't know about all the Pokemon you have, but I'm not sure if any of them are strong enough to take on Groudon."

"I have one." May told them. "Twinkle should be able to handle Groudon, no problem."

"Twinkle?" Marie repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, that secret weapon you mentioned before." A skeptical Lisa recalled. "You really think that Pokemon is strong enough to take on Groudon?"

"Trust me. Twinkle and I won't let you down!" May enthusiastically assured her.

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to try this Pokemon of yours out." Lisa decided.

"Then we should probably get going to Mt. Chimney." Steven decided as he stood up. "If we wait too long to act, the whole world might be in danger."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So May is going to try and capture Groudon. If she pulls it off, I'm sure a few of you reading might be able to guess what this will mean for at least one of my future stories. Also, to those of you wonder just what kind of Pokemon Twinkle is, there's a clue in some of the chapters of my earlier stories, _Best Wishes Revised_.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. The Raid

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Raid

The preparations of Marie and the others to locate and raid Team Magma's hidden base at Mt. Chimney had been swift. Steven had contacted his father and asked him to send a corporate helicopter to get them as close to the base of Mt. Chimney as possible. As they waited for helicopter, May had gone to the Lilycove Department Store to stock up on Pokeballs for the operation that was to come. Meanwhile temperatures all across Hoenn were continuing to rise, becoming hotter than the hottest summer ever recorded in the region. People everywhere had been advised to stay indoors as much as possible.

Within about half an hour since Team Magma's announcement to the world, the helicopter from the Devon Corporation had arrived and Marie and the others were off. It did not take long for the chopper to get near the famous volcano of Hoenn. The helicopter set down on the road reading right to the base of Mt. Chimney, where Marie and the others disembarked. It had been decided that it would be better for them to go the rest of the way on foot for the sake of stealth. Yet as close as they were to Mt. Chimney, it was still going to be a long walk before they got there, and even then they didn't know exactly where the entry point for the base was.

As the group trekked towards the volcano, the sun blazed down unforgivingly above them. For Marie, the heat was bringing back very unpleasant memories of Scorch Gate Prison where she had been sent to as a child, those horrid days of toiling out in the harsh desert with very little water and shade. All of Hoenn was now becoming as hot as that desert hell. After the group had been walking for almost twenty minutes, Marie stopped by the side of a large rock to rest for a moment.

"Are you okay?" a concerned Lisa asked.

"I'm fine." Marie answered. "You'd think I'd be used to this kind of heat considering where I spent a good part of my childhood."

"Oh… yeah." Lisa replied, realizing quickly what Marie was talking about. "Maybe you should've stayed back at the mansion. The three of us could've taken care of this on our own."

"Are you kidding? I'm not letting you raid Team Magma's home base without me." Marie told her. "If I had stayed home, all I would've done was worry about you."

"We should keep moving." Steven told them. "The longer this drought goes on, the more it's going to spread out over the world."

"He's right." Marie agreed. "I'll be fine. Let's go."

Before they continued on, Lisa reached into the bag slung over her shoulder and pulled out a bottle of water. "Here, Marie. I brought plenty of these, but don't go crazy."

Marie nodded and took the bottle from Lisa. After taking a quick drink she pulled off her sunglasses and dumped a tiny bit of water onto her head to try and cool down. With that done, Marie put her sunglasses on and the group continued toward the volcano. As they walked, Marie focused on the goal of taking Team Magma down once and for all. Her time at Scorch Gate had made Marie loath hot weather with a passion, and she wanted to make Team Magma pay for trying to turn the whole planet into that burning desert hell.

After a few more minutes of walking, Marie and the other finally reached the base of Mt. Chimney. They searched around for a bit until they found the mouth of a fairly large cave. Upon entering the cave, they found that it was a straight passageway that led to a metal door.

"Looks like we found the place." May observed as they walked further into the cave. "Now what?"

"I guess we try breaking down the door." Lisa suggested.

Just as Steven was about to pull out a Pokeball, the metal door suddenly opened and Zinnia and Aster were standing in the elevator. Marie and the others instantly tensed up.

"Whoa! Take it easy, everyone." Zinnia told them as she raised her hands in surrender. "Let's not do anything hasty."

"Or what? You'll call for backup?" Lisa asked.

"Not at all. Believe it or not, I'm actually on your side." Zinnia told them.

"That uniform of yours says otherwise." Marie told her.

"Yeah, and aren't you the one who took the Red Orb while we were fighting Courtney?" May recalled.

"Look, I did join Team Magma and steal the Red Orb." Zinnia admitted. "And I was also the one who helped steal the device that Andre Dantes had used to wield the Blue Orb and control Kyogre. But I didn't do any of that for Team Magma's far out goal. In fact, my goal is to take Team Magma down like you guys are trying to."

"Wait, you're saying that you infiltrated Team Magma as a spy?" Steven asked.

"You could say that?" Zinnia confirmed. "Why don't we continue this little conversation in the elevator? Right now we're kind of in the open."

After a moment of hesitation, Marie and the others agreed and entered the elevator. The metal door shut behind them and all eyes fell on Zinnia.

"So, you're saying that you've actually been trying to eliminate Team Magma?" Marie asked.

Zinnia removed her visor and hood, revealing her dark hair. "That's right. I infiltrated the group right after Team Aqua fell."

"So are you working for someone like the police?" Steven asked.

"Nope. I'm my own boss." Zinnia told them. "But I have my reasons for wanting Team Magma to be taken out of the picture."

"But you stole the Red Orb." Lisa pointed out.

"Hey, I had to maintain my cover." Zinnia argued. "Besides, that was the best way for me to get a close look at the Red Orb."

"Why was it important that you get a look at the orb?" Steven asked.

"Because I needed to confirm something that I've known for a long time now. That both the Red Orb and the Blue Orb used by Andre Dantes are fakes." Zinnia revealed.

"Fakes? But Team Magma's using the Red Orb right now to control Groudon." A confused May pointed out.

"And let's not forget that Kyogre did bend to Andre's will because of the Blue Orb." Marie added. "How could both of them be fakes?"

"The fake orbs have that kind of power, alright. But those orbs are replicas of the real Red and Blue Orbs made by arrogant humans to control Kyogre and Groudon." Zinnia informed them. "The real Red and Blue Orbs serve a much different purpose entirely, one that you wouldn't believe."

"And what exactly is that purpose?" Marie asked.

"Let's just keep that a secret for now." Zinnia replied.

"Okay, well if what you're saying is true, how can you be so sure that the Red Orb that Team Magma has is a fake?" Steven asked.

"Because if it was the real deal, my anklet would've reacted." Zinnia answered. "Besides, the real Blue Orb wouldn't have broken like that fake one did. That's what told me that the orbs were fake in the first place. In any case, my plan has been to take down Team Magma once they awoke Groudon. I was going to do it by myself, but when I saw you guys coming I thought we could work together."

"How did you even know we were coming?" Marie asked.

"You kidding? This whole area has surveillance cameras hidden all over." Zinnia revealed. "Team Magma put them up to make totally sure that no one would stumble on their operation. So what do you guys say? Shall we team up?"

"I guess we could use all the help we can get." May pointed out to the others.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Lisa asked Zinnia.

"You don't." Zinnia answered. "But now that you're in this far, can you really afford not to take the chance?"

"What's your name?" Marie asked.

"I'm Zinnia." The dark-haired girl replied. "The Whismer here with me is called Aster."

"I say we let her help." Marie told the others. "There's no reason to think right now that Team Magma is expecting us, which means they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of setting such an elaborate trap."

"Actually it's more like they don't think they need to." Zinnia told them. "Maxie thinks he's pretty much unstoppable now that he's bent Groudon to his will."

"Marie, are you sure about letting her help out?" Lisa asked.

"If I'm wrong, we'll find out soon enough." Marie answered.

"Okay then. We'll need to you take us right to Groudon then." Steven told Zinnia.

"Easy enough." Zinnia replied.

With that, Zinnia pressed the button to make the elevator go down. When they reached the command center below, Zinnia led them out of the elevator and took them to a corridor near the door to Maxie's office. The walls of the narrow passageway were rock, and the inside was as hot as it had become outside of the house, if not hotter. As they trekked downward, they could smell the scent of burning sulfur.

"So how exactly are you guys planning to stop Team Magma?" Zinnia asked.

"I'm going to catch Groudon while everyone else works on breaking the orb." May explained.

"Seriously?" a surprised Zinnia asked.

"That's how my friends, Ash and Misty stopped Kyogre." May replied. "Or so I'm told."

"Wait, back up. How do you know Ash and Misty?" Lisa asked.

"I traveled with them when I first started my Pokemon journey in Hoenn." May explained. "Anyway, if Misty can capture Kyogre, then I can sure as heck catch Groudon."

"That sounded a little competitive." Zinnia noted.

"Well, to be honest I consider Misty as kind of a rival." May admitted. "In fact she's kind of my ultimate rival."

"The rival of Kyogre's mistress, eh?" Zinnia responded. Suddenly her lips curved into a smirk. "You know May, you might just be the perfect person to capture Groudon."

"You really think so?" May asked.

"You bet. And you can count on me to back you up any way that I can." Zinnia told her.

"Well gee, thanks Zinnia." May replied.

As the group continued down the passageway, Marie, Lisa and Steven hung back for a moment. They couldn't help but find Zinnia suddenly becoming so friendly with May to be a bit suspicious.

"Marie, are you sure we can trust Zinnia?" Lisa asked.

"I never said we could trust her, I just said we could let her help." Marie pointed out. "I do think she really wants to stop Team Magma, but not because she wants to save the world. I think there's something else that she's after. But since we're both trying to stop Team Magma, we might as well work together for the time being. We just need to try and keep a close eye on her."

"I'm with Marie on this." Steven agreed. "We're going up against a small army plus one of the strongest Mythical Pokemon in the region, which means we can use every bit of help we can get."

"Hey c'mon, you guys!" May called back. "We won't stop Team Magma by just standing around!"

The others nodded to one another before quickly catching up to May, Zinnia and Aster. When they got to the end of the passageway they saw that they had reached the vast cavern beneath the volcano. Groudon was still sitting in a sea of lava. Its eyes were glowing red and the lines on its body continued to give off a blue light. On the shore of this sea of lava not far from where they were they also saw Maxie with Tabitha and Courtney, standing before several Team Magma agents giving some kind of speech.

"Looks like Maxie's rallying the troops." Zinnia observed. "This isn't going to be easy."

"May, you just focus on catching Groudon." Steven told her. "We'll take care of Team Magma."

Before the group could make a move, a male Team Magma agent came in from the same direction they had come from and quickly spotted them. "Hey! Who the hell are you?"

"Aster, use Screech!" Zinnia quickly commanded.

The little Pokemon let out a high-pitched screech that knocked the Team Magma agent to the ground. At the same time, Maxie and the rest of Team Magma had been alerted to their presence. The sound also caused a loose rock to fall from the corridor ceiling and strike Marie on top of the head. The blonde was out cold and fell to the ground. Lisa instantly went over to Marie's side to check on her. Steven went over to check on Marie as well and looked at the rock that had struck her.

"It's not that big of a rock. I think she's just knocked out." Steven told Lisa.

"What the hell were you thinking using a sound attack like that in a cave?" Lisa angrily asked Zinnia.

"Hey!" Tabitha called. "Who are you people and how the hell did you get in?"

"That's Steven Stone and his friends!" Courtney realized. "And Zinnia's helping them!"

"Uh-oh! Now what?" May asked.

"Now we fight." Lisa decided. "And we stick to the plan! May, you and that secret weapon of yours are on!"

"Well… okay then." May replied as she pulled out a Pokeball. The top half of the Pokeball May produced was purple and had two pink circles on top. Right above the button on the front was a small white letter M. "Come on out, Twinkle!"

Bursting out of May's thrown ball was a skinny almost humanoid creature that was mainly reddish-orange in color. It had a bluish-green mask-like face with a purple stripe running vertical down the middle. The creature's eyes were white, and on the sides of its head were oddly shaped growths that resembled ears, each with a small horizontal blue-green stripe. Instead of arms it had four cord-like tentacles, two of which were red while the other two were blue. Its legs were stilt-like, and on the front of its upper legs were blue-green vertical stripes. The entity's midsection was grayish-black, and embedded in the middle of its chest was a green gemstone.

Maxie and his army of Team Magma soldiers became shocked upon seeing the Pokemon that May had sent out. Lisa, Zinnia and Steven became quite shocked as well.

"Is that… a Deoxys?" Steven asked.

"Sure is." May confirmed.

Lisa looked at the alien Pokemon with disbelief. "_That's_ Twinkle? Why did you give a Pokemon like that such a cute nickname?"

"It's a long story." May answered.

"I don't know who you people are, but you're too late to stop us now!" Maxie told them. "Now that we have Groudon, there is nothing anyone can do to stop our goal!"

"That's what you think!" May told him. "Twinkle and I are gonna stop your plan cold!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Kudos to my Random guest reviewer for correctly guessing Twinkle's identity. Those of you reading are probably wondering how it is that May captured a Deoxys. All I can say at the moment is that it happened in this AU's version of Ash's journey through Hoenn after the events of _Trial of the Phoenix_, a story that the time of me writing this hasn't been written yet. The reason is because back during the early days of this AU, I was eager to get _Scourge of Galactic_ and _Best Wishes Revised_ off the ground. Plus I also needed to come up with a plot for such a story, since I had already used the Kyogre/Groudon story lines for something else, as I'm sure everyone knows. Once I finally get Reign of Silver done though, I'll probably back track a little and do the Hoenn story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Wrath of Noir Mask

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 7: Wrath of Noir Mask

"You really think you have a chance at defeating us, little girl?" Maxie asked May. "I'll admit that your alien Pokemon is a formidable creature from all I've read about its species, but it is no match for Groudon!"

"We'll see about that!" May declared. "Twinkle and I are going to take you down!"

"So be it!" Maxie agreed. "Courtney! Tabitha! I'll handle the girl and the Deoxys. You and the others take care of Steven Stone and his other companions!"

"On it, sir!" Tabitha and Courtney replied together.

"Steven, you and Zinnia take care of Tabitha and Courtney! I'll handle the rest of them and protect Marie." Lisa decided.

"Sounds good to me." Zinnia agreed.

With that, Steven and Zinnia moved to take on their assigned opponents. Meanwhile May quickly moved with Twinkle to get close to the sea of lava. The rest of the Team Magma agents moved in towards Lisa. In moments, Zinnia and Courtney stood facing one another.

"I'm gonna make you regret the moment you decided to betray us." Courtney declared as she pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Camerupt!" The volcanic camel Pokemon burst out of the thrown ball.

"You're way out of your league, Courtney dear." Zinnia confidently declared as she produced her own Pokeball. "Go Salamence!"

Flying out of Zinnia's thrown ball was a large blue four-legged dragon with a massive pair of red wings. Its underside of its torso was blue-grey and looked almost bony. The sides of its legs, as well as the undersides of its neck and long tail were red. The dragon's jaw was grey and it had two patches of red above its eyes, and on the each side of the dragon's head were three long spines. On the top of Salamence's head was a greenish metal crest attached using black leather straps. Adorning this crest was a smooth round stone.

"A Salamence?" a surprised Courtney exclaimed. "How long have you been holding that Pokemon back?"

"Oh I've only begun to let loose." Zinnia told her. "Let's do it, Salamence!"

Salamence roared and suddenly the gem on its head crest began to glow. The small gemstone embedded in Zinnia's anklet began to glow as well, and in moments Salamence was enveloped in a blinding explosion of light. The light faded, and Salamence had taken on a new form. The wings on its back had joined together and formed a large crescent shape. Its tail had grown shorter and its front pair of wings had tucked into the sides of its body. The underside of the dragon's jaw had grown red, and the top two spines on its head had grown longer while the middle pair of spines curved forward to meet its mouth. As its transformation finished, a multicolored light in the form of a DNA strand briefly shined over its head.

"What… what the hell?" a stunned Courtney explained.

"Like I said. You're out of your league." Zinnia repeated.

Not far away, Steven and Tabitha were preparing to face off. The Team Magma commander had a very confident expression on his face.

"You may be the champion of Hoenn, but you're totally out of your element here." Tabitha told Steven. "I know for a fact that you specialize in Steel and Fossil Pokemon, which means that most of your team can be easily taken down by someone like me." With that, he pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Magmortar!"

Bursting out of the thrown ball was a fairly large somewhat humanoid creature that was mainly red in color. It had a bulky figure and its torso had a red and yellow flame-like pattern. Its face had a pink muzzle and a single red flame billowed on the top of its head. The creature had black metal bands on its upper arms, and its lower arms were yellow and in the form of cannons.

"As I've told many trainers before, type advantage isn't everything." Steven told him. "Go Metagross!"

The four-legged saucer creature burst out of Steven's thrown ball. As soon as Metagross emerged, the stones on its front leg and in Steven's pin began to glow. Metagross became enveloped in a blinding light and transformed into its starship-like form. A DNA strand-shaped light briefly shined above its head.

"What on earth?" a shocked Tabitha spoke.

"Let's make this quick." Steven told him. "This place it starting to get a little hot for me."

Meanwhile Lisa had already sent out Phoenix and Entei to deal with the army of Team Magma agents. The agents meanwhile had sent forth several Mightyena and Koffing to do battle. Lisa's two Pokemon had already managed to knock out a few of the hostile Pokemon, but there were still several more to go.

"Give it up, girly. There's no way you can take on all of us by yourself." On of the male Magma grunts told her.

"That's what you think!" Lisa told them. "You may have us outnumbered, but there's no way my Pokemon and I are giving up!"

Suddenly the stones embedded in Lisa's bracelet and Phoenix's manacle began to glow. Phoenix cried out and was enveloped in a blinding light. When the light cleared, Phoenix's upper legs and part of his torso had turned black. The two sections of its hair had grown shorter and were now pointing backward. Both of his wrists had gained a pair of orange flame-like streamers. As the transformation ended, a multicolored light shined briefly above Phoenix's head.

Meanwhile, Entei roared and its eyes began to glow with a blue light. Soon after its body became shrouded in rose-colored flames that briefly took the form of a great bird.

"Ho-Oh?" a surprised Lisa spoke. After a moment she got over the surprise and smiked. "Okay then. Entei, take down those Koffing with Sacred Fire! Phoenix, use Blaze Kick followed by Sky Uppercut on those Mightyena!"

Entei charged forward and launched a blast of flames at three of the Koffing in his path, knocking the floating gas balls to the ground. At the same time, Phoenix swiftly leapt into the air, and after doing a flip came towards one of the Mightyena with a flying kick. The bird warrior's foot became covered in flames just before making contact with the dog Pokemon's face. Then with amazing speed, Phoenix turned around and punched another one of the Mightyena in the jaw, hurling it into a wall of the cavern. The Magma agents stood there in shock.

"Still think you losers can take me on?" Lisa asked them.

Meanwhile, Twinkle floated several feet before Groudon, who had already taken notice of the extraterrestrial Pokemon. The two starred at one another for a few moments and were sizing each other up.

"Groudon, attack with Lava Plume!" Maxie commanded.

"Defense mode and Calm Mind!" May ordered.

In seconds, Twinkle's body became slightly bulkier and its head joined to its torso. Its four tentacles had also become like long paddles. As Twinkle's eyes began to glow pink, Groudon breathed out a stream of lava from its mouth that struck the space Pokemon in the front.

"Use Calm Mind one more time!" May commanded.

"Surly you could think of something more original." Maxie told her. "But fine! Lava Plume again!"

As Twinkle's eyes continued to glow pink, the red dinosaur-like Pokemon breathed out another stream of lava. Once again Twinkle was drenched but managed to stay floating in the air.

"Now! Attack mode followed by Psycho Boost!" May commanded.

Twinkle changed back to a form similar to his original, only his torso had more black patches on the front and its head had gained three spikes that curved backward. Twinkle raised its tentacles, and between them a transparent ball of multicolored light formed between them. The ball fired at Groudon and stuck the behemoth in the chest, causing it to stumble backward a bit.

"Speed mode, Twinkle!" May ordered. "Then move in and use Ice Beam!"

"Precipice Blades!" Maxie commanded.

Twinkle's body changed again and two of its tentacles completely receded into its body. A fin that grew out of the back of its head replaced the spikes it had grown. Groudon roared and several large shards of earth suddenly burst out from the pool of lava. Twinkle swiftly dodged each one as they came up, weaving between them as it flew towards Groudon. When the alien came in range it fired a crackling beam of white energy from its face that struck Groudon in its left shoulder. A patch of ice had formed where the beam had hit.

"Get behind him and use Ice Beam again!" May ordered.

In seconds Twinkle managed to get behind the red beast and fired another beam that hit Groudon in the back. In seconds another patch of ice had formed, larger than the patch on Groudon's shoulder.

"Now! Ultra Ball, go!" May called as she threw out an empty Pokeball.

The ball hit Groudon on its snout and turned him into red energy before sucking him in. Only a second later though, the ball burst open and Groudon reappeared.

"Oh no!" May exclaimed.

"That's your big plan?" an amused Maxie asked. "You foolish girl! There's no way someone like you can capture Groudon! All you've done is spell your doom!"

Meanwhile, the battle between Zinnia and Courtney continued to rage on. Courtney's Camerupt had already taken several hits from Zinnia's blue dragon.

"Camerupt, use Ancient Power!" Courtney commanded.

"Steel Wing!" Zinnia ordered.

Camerupt growled and fired a large ball of white light from its forehead. As Salamence swung around for another attack it was hit in the face by the ball of light. The dragon was unscathed however and zoomed towards Camerupt as its wings began to glow with a white light before turning to grey metal. Salamence passed by the camel Pokemon and slashed it in the side with its wing. Camerupt stumbled but remained on its feet.

"Let's end this. I'm getting board." Zinnia decided. "Use Hydro Pump!"

Salamence reared back its head and fired out a powerful stream of water at Camerupt. The camel Pokemon collapsed onto its side and was out cold. Courtney called back Camerupt in disgust.

"Still think you can take me on?" Zinnia asked Courtney.

Meanwhile, May and Twinkle's battle with Maxie and the controlled Groudon raged on. Twinkle continued to fire more Ice Beams at Groudon to weaken it. Despite the heat of the cavern, Groudon had become covered in a fine layer of white frost. After a few more attacks, May threw another Ultra Ball at Groudon. Just as before though, the behemoth Pokemon burst out of the ball before a seal had a chance to form.

"I told you it's useless." Maxie told May. "Pokeball or not, Groudon is mine! There's nothing you can do to change that."

At the same time, Steven's battle with Tabitha seemed to be winding down. Magmortar fired a plume flames from its right cannon-like arm. Metagross turned its body in the air slightly and easily dodged the attack.

"End this, Metagross!" Steven commanded. "Meteor Mash!"

The starship Pokemon's body became covered in a multicolored mist as it zoomed at Magmortar like a rocket. Metagross rammed into the lava Pokemon's chest and knocked him to the ground. Magmortar was out cold.

"Damn you!" Tabitha cursed.

"Hey, I am the champion for a reason." Steven told him. "Even with type advantage, you'd need a lot more training before you can beat someone like me."

Meanwhile May continued to have Twinkle pelt Groudon with Ice Beam attacks. After one more strike, the entire upper half of Groudon's body became frozen in ice.

"What? Impossible!" Maxie exclaimed.

"One more time!" May called as she threw another empty ball. "Go Ultra Ball!"

The third ball struck Groudon in the face and sucked it inside. This time the ball stayed closed as it began to fall towards the pool of lava. Seconds before it fell into molten rock the ball made the sound that the capture was complete and suddenly vanished with a flash of white light.

"Alright!" May excitedly cheered before turning back to Maxie. "Now Groudon's back at Professor Birch's lab where you can't get to it."

"No! This can't be!" Maxie shouted.

"Good work, May-chan!" Zinnia praised as she suddenly jumped onto Salamence's back. "I'll take care of the rest."

Salamence flew towards Maxie and fired a stream of green flames from its mouth. The flames struck the top of Maxie's pitchfork and knocked it out of the redhead's hands. The staff crashed to the ground and the Red Orb shattered to bits.

"Looks like your plan's finished, Maxie." Zinnia remarked. "It's just as well, since you could never have brought out Groudon's full power. Not with that fake Red Orb anyway."

Just then, Marie began to stir, causing Lisa to look back. The blonde slowly got to her feet holding her head.

"Marie, are you okay?" a concerned Lisa asked.

"Other than a headache and this heat, I'm fine." Marie told her.

"Damn you all!" Maxie cursed. "Do you all know what you've just done? I was going to create the ideal world for human and Pokemon alike, and you ruined it all!"

"An ideal world?" Marie bitterly spoke as she stepped forward. "Don't make me laugh. The world you would've created would've been nothing but a dried up ball of dirt filled with a suffocating heat. I spent years in a hell like that, and I won't stand for anyone trying to make a world in that image."

"What are you talking about?" Maxie asked.

"Go! Zoroark and Darkrai!" Marie called with the throw of two Pokeballs.

The monster fox and shadowy Pokemon burst out of the balls to stand in front of Marie. Many of the Team Magma agents went pale upon seeing Darkrai.

Tabitha meanwhile stepped back in horror upon seeing Darkrai. "It… it can't be!"

"I see you remember me, Commander Tabitha." Marie observed. "Or rather who I was."

"Tabitha, you know this girl?" Maxie asked.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself." Marie spoke. "Zoroark!"

Zoroark roared and his body began to glow with a purple aura. Suddenly the inside of the cavern completely transformed into a vast sandy desert under a blazing hot sun. Marie's clothes also suddenly changed. She had gained a black shirt with a red letter R on the front with a short white skirt with a red stripe near the bottom. Her hand became covered in elbow-high gloves and her feet in white knee-high boots. A white cape covered her left arm and a black cape with a large red feather on the right side appeared atop her head. The top half of Marie's face was suddenly covered in a black mask with blue lenses.

"In the past I was known as Noir Mask." Marie told Maxie and his minions. "I had hoped that I would never have to assume this identity again, but it seems that until all like my cousin who have sought to control the power of Kyogre and Groudon are locked away, I can't throw away my mask just yet."

"And just what do you intend to do?" Maxie asked.

"Sir! We have to get out of here!" Tabitha told him.

"You wanted a new world, and I'm going to give that world to you in a way you never imagined!" Marie declared. "You shall all experience the hell that I once suffered! Darkrai, strike them all down! Dark Void!"

Darkrai rose in the air as he blue eye began to glow red. It raised its arms above its head and a large black ball formed. Darkrai threw the ball and it split apart into several smaller ones that struck Maxie and his goons. Maxie and the other members of Team Magma fell to the ground in a deep sleep. Many of them began to convulse from the shared nightmare they were experiencing. With Team Magma unconscious, the desert returned to being a lava-filled cavern and Marie was back in her original outfit. As the blonde began to collapse to her knees, Lisa quickly came over and caught her.

"That… that was scary." A very unsettled May declared.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Zinnia spoke.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lisa asked Marie.

"Just get me the hell out of here." Marie told her.

* * *

As soon as Groudon had been captured by May, temperatures all around Hoenn had returned to normal within a matter of hours. As soon as Lisa and the others returned to Lilycove, a doctor checked out Marie to see if that rock that had hit her on the head had caused any serious damage. Thankfully Marie had only suffered a minor bump, and when they returned to the mansion Marie went up to bed to get some rest. She had also had Emma see to it that the mansion was made as cold as possible. Since getting back, Lisa had been troubled by whole the whole incident had affected Marie. She now also better understood why Marie usually preferred to stay in the shade when outside and why she liked the cold.

At that moment, Lisa was standing out in the backyard looking at Groudon. May had since sent back another of her Pokemon to Professor Birch to get the behemoth from his lab. May was standing on top of Steven's Metagross, which had floated up high enough to allow May to throw pokeblocks into Groudon's mouth.

"Well, Groudon certainly seems tame." Steven observed.

"He may seem big and tough, but I can tell he's a big softy." May told them.

"Are you thinking of trying to use Groudon in a contest?" Lisa asked.

"Hmm… good question." May replied. "I suppose I could try using Groudon in a contest, but that might be a little too much for the other competitors to handle. You can let me down now."

At Steven's command, Metagross floated back down to the ground. May hopped off the metal Pokemon and called Groudon back to its ball. At that moment, Zinnia walked out of the house with Aster wearing a black shirt with a light-brown cape and very short brown jean shorts.

"Thanks for letting me clean up here." Zinnia told Lisa. "That Team Magma uniform was really starting to stink, not that it didn't look cool though."

"Thanks for all your help, Zinnia." May told her.

"No trouble at all." Zinnia replied. "By the way, May-chan. I have something for you. You have a Venusaur, right?"

"Yeah." May confirmed.

"Then this is for you." Zinnia told her as she reached into the large red bag she was carrying. The item that Zinnia pulled out was a large silver band with a round blue and pink stone fit into it. "Put this on your Venusaur's leg and it can Mega Evolve."

"Wow, really?" May asked as she took the ring. "Thanks."

"Where on earth did you get Venusaurite?" Steven asked with a suspicious look.

"I know this guy who keeps sending me rare stones like that." Zinnia answered. "Oh! I almost forgot, May-chan. You'll need this to get Venusaur to change."

With that, Zinnia handed May a small gold-colored amulet styled to look like a Pokeball. It had a keystone embedded in the center, and carved into the top half was the symbol of the omega.

"Thanks." May told her as she put the piece of jewelry around her neck. "So are you leaving?"

"Yep. Dear Aster and I have some other stuff to take care of." Zinnia answered. "But don't worry, we'll meet again soon enough."

"Zinnia, just why is it that you wanted to take down Team Magma?" Steven suddenly asked.

"Oh… that's not really important now, is it?" Zinnia replied. "I mean what matters is that Team Magma's caput. The cops have already rounded them up and the world is safe."

"Okay, then answer this. You said that the Red and Blue Orbs that Maxie and Andre had were both fake. If that's true, where are the real orbs?" Steven asked.

"Closer then you might think." Zinnia answered. "Well, see ya."

Before anyone could stop her, Zinnia sent out Salamence and she and Aster got onto the dragon's back. The dragon took off into the sky and quickly faded from view.

"Why do I think that the next time we see Zinnia, she won't be so nice?" Lisa asked Steven.

"I think I should probably be going too." Steven decided. "Something tells me that I should start looking into where the real Red and Blue Orbs might be."

"It was nice seeing you again, Steven." Lisa told him.

"You too." Steven replied. With that, Steven called back Metagross and walked off.

"I'm going back inside." Lisa told May. "Good luck with your training."

"Thanks." May told her. "I'm sure I'll win the contest now though thanks to the mega stone Zinnia gave me."

Lisa nodded and walked back into the mansion. She shivered a bit upon feeling the cold air on her skin. After walking up the stairs, she entered the room and found Marie sleeping on the bed on her side. Lisa gently touched Marie's arm to see how sound asleep she was only for the blonde to suddenly pull her down onto the bed. Before Lisa could do anything, Marie quickly got on top of her and began kissing her neck, causing the dark-haired girl to moan with pleasure.

After a moment, Marie stopped kissing Lisa and sat up. "Surprise."

"So, I guess this means you're feeling better." Lisa deduced.

"Much." Marie confirmed. "So I was thinking that when we leave here, we should go to Snowpoint City in Sinnoh for awhile. It's pretty cold there, you know."

"Sounds good to me." Lisa agreed. "I think we could both use a trip to a snowy place after all this. In the meantime though… what were you thinking we should do right now?"

"Oh… I have a few ideas." Marie smirked before leaning in to resume kissing Lisa on the neck. It seemed like they weren't going to be leaving the room anytime soon.

FIN

* * *

**Afterward:** Thus ends another story in my now massive Pokemon AU. I'd like to thank everyone who's read, reviewed, followed or favorited this story. I know this probably wasn't my best work, but it was fun writing a short T rated story like this one. I think this story was also what I needed to get back into doing this AU again after all this time. This story of course helps to set up something in a story I intend to do after I finally finish Reign of Silver. My guest reviewer, Random already seems to have an idea about what's going to happen in that story. But that's a story that's still a pretty long way off. In the meantime, I still have a few other stories to do for this AU, so thanks again and stay tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


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